A Tale of Too Many Drinks
by Li-Li-ThePinkbookgirl
Summary: COMPLETE As a reward for solving a case, Jane and the team get a trip to Las Vegas! Tons of fun for all, until Jane and Lisbon wake up to a very unexpected situation. Jane's wooing skills and Lisbon's patience are put to the test. Will their relationship last?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Dear Readers! I am back and better than ever! (Unless, you have never read my work before, than you would have no idea if I was good, bad or weirder in previous works) So this is my first time writing for this fandom, so please be honest with me if I am doing the characters justice or just murdering everything (ha ha, crime reference), so pleas be honest in your reviews(hint, hint). This story is AU, so it should prove interesting. So, without further ado, ENJOY!**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon or the characters of The Mentalist. This is very unfair, but I will admit that I do not have them hiding in my closet between Seasons. Although, Simon Baker is another story...Oh, alright, I do not own him either(sigh). They all belong to their respective owners(although whoever owns Simon Baker is very lucky).**_

High ranking officials can be very nice, when they want to be. Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon and her team had solved the kidnaping of an official's daughter, bringing her back unharmed to her worried parents. The official was very, very, very, I mean VERY grateful for their help. So grateful in fact, that he offered them a weekend vacation to Las Vegas as a thank you gift. Two night stay in one of the best hotels, tickets to some of the best shows on the Strip, and free room service: how could they say no?

A few days later, they all boarded a flight and found themselves in Sin City, ready to just kick back and enjoy the weekend away from the worries of their jobs.

All except Patrick Jane. He did not like Vegas very well because it was crawling with the swindlers and fakes that he used to be and whom he avoided. The first day, he spent time at the spa relaxing, turning down going to the various shows with the rest of the team. Then he spent his time wandering around the casino, observing people and figuring out who was cheating and who was being cheated. Made for an interesting evening until everyone showed up and they all went to dinner.

That night everyone except Jane went to a show, while he went back up to his room to relax and catch up on some reading. The next day was pretty much the same: everyone else went to the various Las Vegas attractions while Jane relaxed at the hotel. When evening fell, they all convinced him to come with them to a show, which he reluctantly agreed to.

Big mistake.

To say that Jane was critical of the show would be an understatement. They went to a magic show, so not only did he reveal how the man did all the tricks, he critiqued his techniques, explaining how Jane could have done it better. Needless to say, no one had much fun, especially the people surrounding Jane and the team who had to listen to Jane's complaints through the entire show.

Teresa decided that everyone needed a strong drink afterwards, so they all hit the bar at their hotel. A few drinks loosened everyone up and they all enjoyed, or thought they enjoyed, the music blaring from the DJ.

Jane relaxed in the corner with a drink, with Teresa next to him, the two watching the rest of the team laughing and having a good time.

Teresa thought that she would have been with them, but she hated to leave Jane all by himself in the corner. Plus, after a while and a few more shots, she was having a grand ole' time watching everyone. But Jane was still mostly silent, studying people. Teresa was happy to finally put work on the back burner and just have fun, but Jane did not seem to be having fun and Teresa, in her 'happy' state of mind, would have none of that.

"Jane," She said suddenly, drawing him back from watching people, "you need a few more drinks. You look way too serious for Las Vegas."

Jane grinned. "I am having a great time, thank you Lisbon. Why don't you go and join the others."

Teresa shook her head. "Absolutely not. You worked just as hard, even harder, than the rest of us on that case, so you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor."

Jane shook his head. "Sorry, Lisbon, but I don't really want to have anymore alcohol for the evening. But I think I might be able to get the bartender to make me some tea, he does look like the tea type." He started to stand up, but Teresa grabbed his hand and yanked him back down, partially glaring at him.

"You stay there and I'll go get you a drink. A proper drink. Something worthy of having a vacation in Las Vegas." And with that, she part sauntered, part stumbled over to the bar and ordered.

Jane had never seen Lisbon drunk before, truly drunk, and he began to realize that she was a force to be reckoned even when intoxicated. So he thought it would probably be wise to let her get him a drink and do as she said. So he relaxed against the booth seat and waited for his drink.

When Teresa came back, she carried two drinks and sat down. Jane was intrigued by the multi-color drink which she set down before him. Teresa had one of her own and she lifted her glass up in a toast.

"To fun. Something we don't get to have very often."

Jane shook his head. "Maybe not for you," he smirked as she glared at him, "How about 'to vacations.' Something that we all need eventually."

They clinked glasses and took a sip.

Jane's eyes lit up. "Interesting. Fruity, yet not fruity. Odd taste. What do you think, Lisbon?"

Teresa nodded. "It is different. But very, very good."

Jane agreed and the two took another sip, which turned into a gulp that finished the drink. Teresa stood up.

"I'll go get some more for us."

Jane stood up as well. "I'll come with you. I want to see what other creations the bartender has to offer."

The two went over to the bar and settled in to browse the drinks.

About an hour and goodness-knows how many drinks later, Teresa had succeeded in loosening Jane up a bit. Well, not really a bit. More like completely unleashed. Laughing, joking and groggy eyed, the two made an interesting pair. No inhibitions were left, so they talked about random things. Anything that came to mind, from dogs to sidewalks to the moon, their slurred conversation would have made good blackmail material if the rest of the team was still around. Alas, the others had gone up to bed, exhausted and wanting to sleep off their hangovers before the flight home in the morning.

After another half hour of laughing and pointing at random objects, Jane stood up, mostly supported by his stool, and said triumphantly, "I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun drinking. We should really do this again some time."

Teresa laughed and tried to stand up. "Yeah, well, anytime you want to hit the bars, just call me up and we'll have some fun," She finally found her center of gravity and looked at Jane, "What should we do now? The night is young and we have all of Las Vegas before us."

Jane grinned and offered her his arm. "Let's go for a walk and I'll tell you this wacky idea that I just came up with, something that would make it easier for us to have fun together."

Teresa smiled and took his arm. "I am sure that whatever you have in mind will be great, but you will need to lead me because the room is slightly spinning.

**So, what do you think? Was it good? Bad? Or just ugly? Please let me know in a REVIEW! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	2. The Next Morning

**Hello dear Readers! Wow, I am thrilled at all the positive reviews that I have been receiving from all of you! Thank you so much! And now, to satisfy your craving(you are craving, right?) for more story, here is the next chapter! ENJOY!**

Pain. Teresa felt pain before she opened her eyes. Throbbing pain. Mostly in her head. A headache. That is what it was. But how did she get it? Hangover, that was what popped in her thoughts. From way too much drinking last night. Along with that thought came the skills and the ability to slowly open her eyes.

Teresa groaned as she opened her eyes and tried to sit up, bust just ended up leaning her head against the headboard, and looked around. She was in a hotel room. That much was obvious. But it was not her hotel room, just one that looked kind of like it. Where was she? She tried to think about what happened last night, but her thoughts were halted by the sound of groaning on the other side of the bed. She slowly brought her eyes down to look at the occupant.

She screamed.

How else would you have reacted at finding Patrick Jane in bed with you? Actually, don't answer that.

Of course Lisbon's screaming certainly woke Jane up, and when he figured out who she was, he screamed as well. After their scream fest was over, they both stared at each other, in horror.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Jane asked.

"Your bed?" Lisbon answered, "We're in your room?"

"Yes, and you are in my bed. Why?"

"I have no idea! I don't even know what we did last nig..." Lisbon suddenly realized something. She peaked under the sheets and almost screamed again.

Jane realized what she was doing and did the same to himself. They both sat in silence, redder than lobsters.

"Please tell me," Lisbon said, "that we did not, well, sleep together."

"Well, based on the facts, I would say that we did."

Lisbon groaned. "Oh no, no, no! This cannot be happening. I could not have slept with you, it is against every rule in the book to sleep with your coworker."

"Actually, technically I am not an official officer of the CBI, so I do not think there are any rules..." Jane shut up at Lisbon's intense glare. Then he noticed something. "Hey, where did you get that ring on your finger?"

Lisbon looked down. "I have no idea. I do not own a simple gold band ring...wait, why is it on my left ring finger?"

Jane shrugged. "Maybe you won it in a contest and just put it there."

Lisbon shook her head. "No, I don't think so." She looked around the room for answers and noticed a sheet of paper on the bedside table. She picked it up and read it, then froze.

Jane watched her, concerned. "What is it?"

"Jane," She said slowly, "I think we did a whole lot more than just sleep together last night."

**So, your thoughts? I know that this was a short chapter, but I like evil cliffhangers, so I thought that I would leave it here and start thinking about the next chapter. Please REVIEW and let me know what you think! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	3. A Tale of Rememberances

**Hello readers! I am back and with a new chapter, too! What? You were not just happy to see my smiling face again? Hmm, well, I feel a little unloved(sniffle). Oh well, I'll get over it. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them! ENJOY!**

Jane grabbed the paper out of Lisbon's hand and read it. They were both silent, the full impact of what had happened sinking in. Jane cleared his throat.

"So, I guess we got married."

Lisbon nodded. "Looks like it."

More silence.

Lisbon took a deep breath. "Okay, we need to just get dressed and head down to the Courthouse and get this, marriage annulled."

Jane only nodded.

Lisbon clutched her head. "How did we even get back here? My memories are all blurry."

Jane shook his head. "I can remember bits and pieces up until we came back here, but once we got in here, everything goes blank."

Lisbon gave up trying to remember and looked around the room. "Um, where are my clothes?"

Jane looked on the floor and shrugged. "I have no idea. You don't think we started in your room and ran over here?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "And what? We ran through the hotel naked? Highly unlikely."

Jane grinned. "Weirder things have probably happened in this hotel."

Lisbon gathered ones up the sheets around her and stood up, searching for some article of clothing. "Where are my clothes? This makes no sense!"

Jane stood up, clutching a sheet to himself. "This whole morning doesn't make sense." He looked down. "Why is the floor damp?"

Lisbon looked down. "I have no idea."

Jane got an idea. "I think we should check the bathroom." Lisbon shrugged and opened the bathroom door.

They both froze.

Whatever memories they had forgotten about last night came rushing back and both of their faces slowing went from a slight blush, to full fledged lobster-face mode as they remembered.

They had begun their wedding night in there, and the signs proved what a, well, passionate beginning it had been. Water was splashed everywhere, their clothes were thrown, dropped, dangling from every surface imaginable. What they had done together, mostly in the shower, left the couple speechless and shocked.

It is a amazing what a few drinks will make you do.

The both turned towards the bed, as their memories continued and they remembered what they had continued in there. Yes, the only way their faces could get any redder was if all the blood burst out.

Of course, along with their wedding night memories, they also remembered what had gotten them into this mess in the first place:

Jane's drunken idea to spend more time together was to get married. They had found a chapel close by, some guy dressed as Elvis had married them, and they had swaggered back to Jane's room to begin their wedding night. You would have thought that there should be a law against marrying people as drunk as they were.

The two stood for a few minutes, too embarrassed to look at the other. Suddenly, they both jumped when Lisbon's phone began ringing from the floor in front of the bathroom. She picked it up and answered.

"Lisbon here."

"Where are you?" It was Grace.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you not in your room? I woke up this morning and found that your bed had never been slept in. Where were you last night?"

"Um, um, well," Lisbon stammered, "I had a few too many drinks last night and ended up in Jane's room." She mentally slapped herself.

"Jane's room?"

"Um, yeah. I was so hammered that he took me up to my room, but I had lost my key and I did not want to wake you, so he just brought me to his room and let me sleep it off."

"Oh," Grace answered, "Okay. I can come over there and give you my key, if you want."

"No!" Lisbon yelled. "I mean, I'll just come over there and knock."

"Well, we're all down at the buffet eating breakfast."

"Okay, I'll just come down there and get a bite."

"Alright, see you a bit."

Lisbon closed her phone and groaned. "Why does this have to happen to me? I come to Vegas, hoping to relax, and I end up getting married to my coworker. How much worse can this trip get."

Jane cleared his throat a little. "It might get a little worse since we have to go eat breakfast and then leave right after. We have to be at the airport in an hour."

Lisbon pursed her lips. "That doesn't leave enough time to get the annulment. We will just have to get it done when we get back to California." Lisbon turned back to the bathroom. "We need to focus on getting dressed and getting through all this until we leave. Now, where is my shirt?"

Jane handed her the shirt that was wadded up in the corner. "Here. I'll just get my clothes and get dressed out there." He quickly grabbed his stuff, avoiding looking at her underclothes.

They both dressed quickly and Jane put the marriage certificate in his luggage, and then they went downstairs.

Breakfast was uneventful, as everyone was pretty silent, hung over. Grace did not ask any more questions and did not appear suspicious about the previous night's events. Everyone got their luggage and headed to the airport. While on the plane, Jane and Lisbon avoided each other at all costs. Lisbon spent her time staring out the window and worrying about what would happen if anyone found out that she was married to Patrick Jane, while Jane spent his time contemplating a plan for his future.

**What did you think? Good? Bad? Kind of ugly? Just plain odd? Please let me know in a REVIEW! Thank you! You guys always brighten my day. I also love your funny observations. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	4. The Tale of Thoughts

**Hello again, dear readers! Are you ready for the next thrilling installment of this story? Are you sure? Are you really sure? Are you...SLAP. Thanks, I needed that. Anyway, please REVIEW and let me know what you think! ENJOY!**

Teresa tried to read the report in front of her. It was not going well. Ever since they had arrived back, she and Jane and been avoiding each other. She had been trying to get the annulment papers from Nevada, while Jane was busy doing who knows what. She was glad that she had not seen him, the last thing she needed was awkwardness between them.

Like that was going to go away. She shook her head, trying to get rid of that thought. Okay, sure, she and Jane would probably still be awkward around each other, but eventually they would move on and get past their one night together. Right?

Her thoughts were interrupted by her fax machine humming to life. She was relieved when she saw that it was the annulment papers. Now she and Jane just needed to sign them and they would be all set. She wanted to find Jane right away and get it over with, but she knew that she needed to focus on case reports and not trying to find Jane.

Jane was not hading, per se, he was more like lying on the couch all day hoping no one noticed him. Teresa had rarely left her office since they had all come back, leaving Jane to find something to amuse himself with. They were not working on any cases right then, just finishing up the details on old ones, so Jane could have just stayed home. But he did not want to be away from the office. He wanted to be near Lisbon, to be able to figure out what she thought of their new 'marriage'.

But Jane was still trying to figure out what he himself thought of it, not quite sure if he was happy or worried about being married to Lisbon. And why did he even list happy as an option? They were co-workers, nothing more, even if he would like to argue that point.

His plan was to approach Lisbon and breach the subject of their marriage, but he knew that he would only be shoved out the door and avoided. He knew that she was wanting to get an annulment as fast as possible, and somewhere, deep down, he had formulated a plan to convince her that perhaps a hasty annulment would not be the best choice. His plan was more of a plan for the two of them to just talk, openly, about their thoughts and feelings on the matter, perhaps reveal some hidden emotions in the mix. But so far she was not helping his plan at all and Jane knew that he needed to wait for her to approach him about the matter.

He did not need to wait long.

That evening, when everyone was getting ready to go home, Teresa stopped Jane as he was grabbing his jacket. "Jane, I have papers for you to sign."

"What kind of papers," He asked as he slowly put his jacket on.

Teresa glanced around her quickly before answering, "You know what papers. The annulments papers. I just need your signature at the bottom and we can put all of this behind us."

Jane slowly nodded, his plan solidifying. "Okay, but do we need to do it here, at the office? It would be a bit embarrassing for someone to walk over and ask what we were signing. Besides, I think we need to talk about it a bit, since we both know that what happened between us is not going to go hide in the closet."

Teresa sighed. "Then what would you suggest?"

Jane thought for a moment before smiling. "How about you come over to my place and we sign them there. We can have some Chinese food, and talk for a bit. We can sign the papers there and you can mail them tomorrow. How does that sound?"

Teresa slowly nodded. "Okay, fine. I just need to go back to my place and change out of my work clothes, then I'll meet you there."

"Great! How about in an hour?"

Teresa shrugged. "Fine, see you then."

Jane nodded and left, his smile not leaving his face.

**Okay, yes, a cliffhanger. I am evil, I know. Now, in order for me to write the next one, I need REVIEWS! If I do not get any reviews, well, the next chapter may have an untimely 'accident.' Yes, that was my attempt at being tough. Anyway, please REVIEW and let me know what you think! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	5. A Tale of Wine

**Hello to my favorite readers! (Okay, any readers are my favorite, but that is beside the point) I wanted to clear up a couple little details: I know that on the show Patrick has his home above the police station, but I made it in this story that he has his own small apartment. Just in case those of you who are sensitive about details would notice. I also switch between first and last names in the story. That may get annoying, but since they both refer to each other with both names, I thought that I would just use the name that I think fits the moment the best. Minor details, but I just thought I would explain. Anyway, on with the story! ENJOY!**

Teresa quickly ran to her home and changed into some comfy clothes before driving to Patrick's apartment. She was hoping that she would be able to get the papers signed easily and sent off, so she could try to get back to her normal life. But part of her was also looking forward to talking with Jane, something she had put off for a while. They needed to sort out this whole thing and figure out what their next step would be.

She arrived at his house wit four minutes to spare and knocked on his door. His smiling face answered it and he motioned her inside. His smile both put her at ease but also on her guard. She was impressed with his preparations: Take-out was already on the coffee table, with some wine on the side. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Wine?" He shrugged.

"I think that we need to loosen up a bit, especially since you have looked like you have been carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders for a while." She had to agree, she really did need some drink in her to relax.

Nothing much was said as they dug into their food and opened the wine. Both seemed to be skimming the whole issue, neither knowing how to begin. So, they just kept eating and drinking. A lot. Jane seemed to have quite a few bottles of wine and they just kept refilling their glasses. Every time they would empty their glasses, one or the other would try to say something, but nothing seemed right, so they would just refill their glasses and sit silently.

Of course, drinking more and more does nothing to help two people in an awkward moment get past it in an adult way. It tends to just fling them past the issue they were worried about in the first place and make them bumbling idiots with no judgmental skills. Which is what happened after about the third bottle of wine.

"No, I'm serious, he did say that." Teresa explained, laughing. Jane laughed with her at the somewhat funny story she was telling about old cases.

"And what did you say back?" He asked, reaching for his wine glass that was somehow on the floor now.

Teresa shrugged, still laughing. "I honestly cannot remember. I think it was something about peguins, but that could be a totally unrelated topic."

Patrick laughed and tried to take a sip of his wine, only to find his glass empty. He slowly reached for the wine bottle, his hands shaky and his vision funny. "What some more?"

Teresa nodded and set her glass on the coffee table, almost spilling what little wine that was left on the floor. "Sure, more wine is never a bad thing."

Patrick tipped the bottle, only to find it empty as well. He frowned. "We really drink wine fast. I should stock up on wine next time."

Teresa laughed. "Next time? I seriously doubt there will be a next time."

Patrick laughed and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Because we can't keep meeting like this. Why will our boss say?"

Patrick mimicked her eye rolling. "Well, what would say about Vegas, hmmm? I think we have a lot more issues then our chummy time together with a bottle of wine."

Teresa tried to glare at him, but nothing much came of it. "I think you did that whole marriage thing on purpose. Just like you are doing this whole night on purpose. You wanted me to get so stinking drunk that I would be open to anything."

Patrick shook his head. "I did not want you to get drunk. I wanted to talk, but obviously wanting to talk and actually talking are two different things. I cannot help it that you get crazy when you drink."

Teresa tried to hit him, but missed by a good foot. "Crazy? I'm the one that's crazy? You can talk all you want, but I am perfectly capable of coherent thinking even if my vision is a little woozy." She stood up, leaning on the couch for support, she got her purse. "In fac, I am so full of coherent thinking that I am going to get you to sign these stupid anullment papers and call me a cab so I can go home." She fumbled through her purse, mumbling, "Now where did I put those stupid papers?

Patrick stood up, stumbling slightly. "Here, let me help. If that is what you want, then I'll do it." He tried to reach for her purse, but she slapped his hand.

"I am perfectly capable of finding papers, thank you very much." He gave up and just stood next to her, leaning on the couch. She smiled triumphantly. "Ah, here they are! Now, I just need to find her a pen." A black pen materialized in front of her face and she stared at its owner.

"Here," Patrick said.

Teresa reached to take it, but as she clasped it in her hand, neither of them let go or took away. She found herself staring at Jane, no one breaking the somewhat blurry look between them. Before either of them could think, the pen had dropped, along with the purse, and they were kissing, stumbling and trying to move together in the general direction of Patrick's bedroom.

**So, what did you think? Huh? Huh? Huh? Please REVIEW and let me know your thoughts, feelings and general attitude towards this chapter. Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	6. The Tale of Deals

**Hello my fellow fan fiction lovers! I have to admit: Mentalist is one of my favorite fandoms to write in. Teresa and Patrick are some of the most fun characters to write about. If you cannot tell, I am having a LOT of fun writing this story :) I appreciate the reviews let me know that you are also enjoying the fun and I hope that you will also like this chapter. ENJOY!**

Teresa opened her eyes very slowly. She was staring a white wall that she was unfamiliar with. She was lying on a pillow that she did not know. Sunlight was poring in from some window behind her and she felt hung over. But one thing stood out to her.

She was also naked, with only a sheet and a blanket on her.

But that was not the thing that was completely bothering her. What was bothering her was her mind was clear enough that she remembered what had happened last night. And so, as she turned over, she was not at all surprised to find the face of a newly awakened Patrick Jane looking at her.

Neither said anything for a long time, both just calming looking at the other. There was no horror this morning, not like in Vegas. They both perfectly remembered what they had done. Now they were just trying to figure out what to do next.

Lisbon was the first to move, getting into a sitting position in leaning against the headboard.

Patrick sat up and joined her, clearing his throat and said, "So, what now?"

Teresa shrugged, a small grin tugging at her lips. "I have no idea. All I know is that I am sick of being hung over. Really makes drinking unappealing."

Patrick nodded. "See, tea does have its benefits," He sighed, "I guess now would be a good time to talk."

Teresa looked at him. "Talk about what?"

"Well, us. I think we can agree that drinking is not a good thing for us to do, but when it always leads to this," he motioned at the bed, "I think we have some underlying issues to deal with."

Teresa sighed, almost glaring at the sheets. "You're right, we do have some issues to deal with. But what do you suggest we do? I know, I do, that getting an annulment would not get rid of the awkwardness between us, but what else can we do?"

Patrick sat silent, staring at the wall opposite the bed. Teresa stared at her hands, trying to understand what she and Jane had done the previous night. Nothing as wild as their 'wedding night', but it was still intense. Perhaps she should not be surprised. She had seen the intoxication make people go from calm to crazy, so of course it would make her and Jane go completely mad. Of course, she tried to avoid thoughts of why they would go mad in that direction, why they would decide to get married. She was saved from having to think too much on this ideas by Jane moving.

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why don't we give this marriage a shot?"

Teresa stared at him. "Give it a try? Why in the world would we do that? We got married while we were drunk, not the best way to start a vow of commitment."

Patrick nodded. "Yes, our marriage may not have begun on the traditional foot, but I think we can still make this work. Wait," He held up his hand at her retort, "Hear me out. I know that you want to have some idea of what our marriage could be like, what I have to offer as a husband. We hardly ever see each other outside of work, so why don't we spend this weekend together. We can leave our phones off and spend the time together getting to know each other, like dating."

Teresa thought for a moment and then glared at him. "Is this some kind of trick?"

Patrick shook his head, slightly hurt. "No, I am being completely honest."

Teresa pursued her lips. "Then why do I want to agree to this insane idea?"

Jane grinned and reached down to get his shirt off the floor. "Tomorrow is Friday, and think we should spend the weekend here so I can get everything ready."

Teresa glared at him, but there was not much intensity behind it as she grabbed her clothes off the floor. "Hey! I did not say I agree, I just said I want to agree."

Jane turned to her, still grinning, his pants and shirt back on. "Well, if you want to agree than why not just go with that?"

Teresa buttoned her shirt, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I agree. But I want us to be sure to come to a sure decision by the end of Sunday, or we will go through with the annulment. And no drinking. Deal?"

Patrick nodded. "Deal. By the way" he reached down and picked up something. "I think I found your underwear."

Teresa glared at him, full intensity this time, catching it in air when he threw them. It was going to be an interesting weekend.

**What do you think? Please let me know in a REVIEW! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	7. A Tale of Food and Water

**Hello everyone! I want to explain the last chapter a bit: my head could not figure out the exact conversation, so if it felt like the characters were not totally acting like they should, it was probably because they really were not. Sorry, but I promise that future chapters will be better. Anyway, on with the show! ENJOY!**

Teresa glared straight ahead, not really seeing anything in her office. She was alone, and fuming.

What an idiot she was! Oh yes Jane, I'll come and spend a romantic weekend with you, and perhaps make our working relationship even more awkward. What possessed her to agree? It must have been the hangover, her mind was still muddled and so she willingly agreed to Jane's proposition. And now she was stuck with it! Sure, she could tell him she had changed her mind, but he had been M.I.A. all day since there were no cases to work on, and she could not get a hold of him on his cell. But, no problem, she reassured herself, she would just go to his apartment with the annulment papers and demand he sign them, no weekend together or anything. Yes, that was exactly what she would do.

Once she got off work, she went to her apartment to pack. Not because of going to Jane's, but she thought maybe she would go and spend the weekend in a motel by the beach, just for the fun of it. Maybe go to a bar or two, check out a club, just relax and have a good time. Of course, she normally didn't do that sort of thing, but she also didn't normally marry Patrick Jane, so she figured she could be a little wild tonight.

When she arrived at Jane's, she grabbed her purse and was about to open her door when she screamed.

Patrick Jane grinned at her, opening her door for her. "You know, Lisbon, if you keep screaming like that my neighbors are going to wonder what kind of twisted things I am in to."

Teresa glared at him and got out. "Shut up, you startled me, that's all."

Patrick just grinned and opened her back door, grabbing her suitcase before she could say anything. He motioned her to follow him. "Come on, I have dinner on the table."

Teresa tried to tell him to bring her suitcase back, but nothing came out. She sighed and locked her car, following him. She was not off to a great start.

By the time they got to his door, she had re-resolved to go in and tell him to sign the papers, then get out. No small talk, just straight and to the point. She did not want to listen to anymore of his 'propositions.'

However, all that resolve proceeded to go out the window when she walked into his apartment and gasped.

The dining room table was set for a fancy meal, the best china and silverware arranged, and fresh, delicious looking food making her mouth water just looking at it. Candles adorned all the middle of the table and she smelled the fresh scent of roses wafting from a small bouquet that Jane suddenly produced in his hand.

She stared at the flowers, not sure what to say. Jane handed them to her, saying, "I thought that you might like some flowers to begin the evening off. I like that dress, the color goes perfect with your skin tone."

Teresa looked down at her dress, blushing slightly. It was a basic blue dress, not to revealing or tight, and she had worn it in preparation to go to a club, not a fancy dinner. Now, after seeing the food on the table, club food did not sound that appealing to her. Perhaps just staying for dinner wouldn't hurt, especially since it looked like Jane had put a lot of work into it.

Jane led her to the table, pulling a chair out for her, and sitting down across from her when she was seated. "I hope you like Italian. I thought I would try my culinary skills out."

Teresa smiled at him. "Looks delicious, you must have a multitude of hidden talents up your sleeve."

He merely grinned and they both began eating.

They passed the first part of the dinner in silence, then Jane brought out some chocolate cheesecake(the way into any woman's heart) and they began talking. Not about anything serious, mostly just fun random things. But they began to become more at ease, laughing and talking, and any tension that had surrounded them at the beginning of the meal was fading away and time passed quickly.

Teresa stared at her glass. "Water, find choice for a meal."

Jane laughed. "Well, since our previous experiences with wine were a bit odd, I thought we might try water this time around."

Teresa finished her glass and they were silent.

Jane cleared his throat. "So, it's about nine, what do you want to do?"

Teresa raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would have the whole weekend planned and full of romantic activities."

Jane shrugged. "Well, maybe. But I thought you might have a suggestion for the first evening."

Teresa stared at her empty glass, her mind flipping things over and figuring out what she wanted to say. Finally, she said, "I guess we could just go to bed."

They were both stunned at that idea, Teresa more so. Maybe her water was drugged? No, she had said that with a clear mind, and she would not back down from it.

Jane cleared his throat, "Are you sure about that?"

Teresa looked at him. "Yes. This is supposed to be a 'romantic' weekend, so let's get the most important and awkward part out of the way. Any objections?"

Jane shook his head. They both stood up and watched each other, before Jane walked closer and took her hands in his. They just stared until Jane smiled slightly. "Perhaps a little wine would have made this part a little smoother."

Teresa laughed a little. "Yeah, probably would have helped."

They stood in silence until Jane stooped down, a few inches from her mouth, and whispered, "Are you sure?"

Teresa nodded, and they kissed. A few long kisses was all they needed to relax and started moving towards Jane's bedroom, both eager to see what a non-drunk night together would be like.

**Okay, what did you think? Did this chapter stink? Was it okay? Was it the best thing you have ever read in your life? Please just let me know in a REVIEW! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	8. A Tale of Breakfast

**Hello dear readers! One small thing before we begin this chapter: HOLY COW the Mentalist Season Finale was AMAZING! I loved it, and now I am totally impatient to see what happens next season. The last few minutes were my favorite part :) But, anyway, on with the story. ENJOY!**

Teresa opened one eye, then the other. She was surprised to find that she was alone. She slowly sat up and was pleased to note that for once in her short marriage to Patrick Jane, she had finally woken up sober, no hangover. It was nice to have the ability to think in the morning.

She sat up and looked around. No surprise that clothes were strung out all over the floor. But where was Jane? Teresa stood up and stretched, and started to pick up her clothes, then stopped. She decided, since this was supposed to be a romantic, casual weekend that she would dress more appropriately. She grinned as she grabbed Jane's shirt from last night and put it on. Of course, it was too big for her, but the blue color did go with her skin tone. She brushed her hair in front of the mirror then stopped.

It was weird wearing Jane's shirt, after all the ruckus she had made about their 'professional' relationship, and why they needed to get an annulment. Of course, that all went out the window when she and Jane had kissed, severing any mask of not being romantically involved.

Teresa put the brush down and headed towards the door. She was going to banish those thoughts until after the weekend was done. She was just going to relax and just have fun.

She walked to the kitchen, hearing sounds of food cooking once she had stepped into the hallway. She found Jane flipping a couple omelets and frying bacon. She watched him for a few moments, admiring his ability to keep his white robe free of any grease or egg stains, something that she could brag at being able to do.

"Lisbon, I know you're there." Teresa rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

"Of course you do, oh wise one. Is there anything I can help with?" Jane handed her an orange.

"I have found that fresh squeezed orange juice is a great thing to start the day with." Teresa stared at the orange, trying to decipher how to get juice from it. Thankfully, Patrick had already brought the juicer out and set it up.

The two worked in the kitchen, bantering a little as they worked, and then enjoying the finished feast.

When they were done and the dishes were in the sink, Teresa turned to Jane. "So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

Jane grinned. "Oh, nothing much really. I had actually planned on bringing breakfast up to bed, and then we could spend the morning up there. But since you insist upon being out of bed, I guess we will just have to find something else to do."

Teresa smacked him on the arm. "Who said I was insisting upon anything? You are the host, entertain me."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Entertain you? Well, I guess I could do a strip tease or something. Although, since you seem to be wearing my clothes, that might be an issue."

Teresa shrugged, looking down at the shirt. "I thought that it fit the casual and romantic weekend look. Why, do you want it back or..." Jane took her hands away from the front of the shirt, where she had begun to unbutton it.

"I think that perhaps we should go back to the bedroom before you decide to be the one doing the strip tease. I like to keep my kitchen clean and prepped as only a place for food and nothing else."

Teresa sighed dramatically, pretending to be bored. "Fine, if you insist. It is your apartment after all."

Jane was not fooled and proceeded to kiss her, leading her towards the bedroom.

* * *

><p>"So, what's for lunch," Teresa asked while twirling a bit of Jane's hair around her finger.<p>

The rest of the morning had been spent actively in bed. Now, the couple was just relaxing, with Jane's head on Teresa's stomach, looking up at her.

"I don't know, have any preferences?"

Teresa shrugged. "Not really, whatever you have in the kitchen will fine."

Jane sat up and reached for his robe. "Alright, come, we shall raid the kitchen and pillage for food."

Teresa laughed and reached for the shirt she had been wearing that morning, but then stopped. "Actually, I think that a shower would be more appropriate before we eat."

Jane stopped with only one arm in the robe's sleeves, before nodding. "Good point. Alright, do you want to go first or shall we take one together?"

Teresa stood up and headed towards the bathroom. "I don't care, your choice. All I know is that I want a shower and I don't care who shares it with me."

Jane stared at her, a bit surprised that her attitude had relaxed so much. Could this be the same Lisbon who had brought the annulment papers with her last night? Yes, he had known that she brought them, of course she would. He hoped that he was finally breaking through that tough outer shell and finding the woman underneath. Now if he could only keep her attitude up like this over the rest of the weekend than they might have a chance of staying together. Of course, she seemed to be only too willing to have fun, even with him.

He secretly smiled as he followed her into the bathroom.

**Okay, what did you think? I am still working on what will all happen over their weekend together, so the weekend may span over several chapters. If you have any ideas for activities they could do together, feel free to share them in a REVIEW! If they are not too naughty, I may or may not use them, who knows. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	9. The Tale of A Mental Game

**Hello dear readers! Sorry for the long wait, I have been super busy and I also took a break from writing for a while. But I am back, and will be back to updating once a week(hopefully). Now, the moment you have all been waiting for(okay, probably not), a new chapter! ENJOY!**

Teresa sat enjoying her turkey sandwich, while Patrick drank a soda. After a, well, long shower they had settled down to enjoy lunch in the kitchen. Patrick had produced sandwich supplies and drinks, and Teresa was impressed to see not only regular turkey and cheddar cheese, but also blue cheese dressing. She loved turkey, cheddar and blue cheese dressing sandwiches. She licked the last bit of dressing off her fingers and looked expectantly at Patrick.

He set his drink down and stared at her. "What?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "You know what. How did you know that I like blue cheese dressing on my sandwiches? I rarely bring lunch with me to work and I do not think that I have ever brought turkey, cheddar and blue cheese dressing sandwiches. So, how did you know about that?"

Patrick smirked. "I have my ways."

Teresa glared at him. "Ways? What ways? Come on, I think that since I am married to you that I should have insight into your 'ways'."

Patrick winked. "I think that I still have the right to surprise you now and then. Now, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

Teresa shook her head, knowing that he was avoiding her question, but decided to let it be. For now. She looked around the living room, which was connected to the kitchen/dining room area. "I don't know. How about we play a game?"

"What kind of game?"

Teresa thought for a moment. "Well, we could play some board games or maybe some more mental type games." Teresa wanted to smack herself for saying the last part, as she watched Patrick's smirk turn into a grin.

"Mental games, huh? What sort of mental games?"

"Well, like," Teresa stammered while trying to think of some game, "um, like truth or dare, or..." Again, mental slapping ensued. Truth or dare? What was she, completely insane? Before she could take back that dreadful suggestion, Patrick had already pounced on the idea.

"Truth or dare? Sounds like the perfect game for our situation. Allows us to get to know one another better, and maybe have some, um, physical fun at the same time."

Teresa groaned as Patrick headed to the more comfortable living room couch. Why, oh why, did she have to think up that game? She might as well just hand Patrick a loaded gun and aim it towards her forehead, that would be less dangerous than playing this game with him. Of course, she could just stick with dare instead of truth(keeping some of her secrets still as secrets), but she was slightly more scared about what he would dare her to do than what personal questions he would ask. No way around it, she would just have to suck it up and hope that she survived the game.

Patrick sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside him. "Come, come. We have much fun ahead of us." Teresa was not comforted by those words, or the big grin plastered on his face. But she still begrudgingly sat down beside him and faced him.

"So, do you want to go first?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, I think that you should start it off and get the ball rolling."

"Alright. True or dare?"

Patrick smiled. "Truth."

Teresa thought about a question, then asked, "Have you ever pick-pocketed me?"

"Yes." Patrick answered.

Teresa was a bit angry, but not surprised. "When?"

Patrick shook his head. "Sorry, but I think you can only ask one question per turn. My turn now. Truth or dare?"

Teresa was a bit peeved at his answer, but focused on debating the two choices. "Dare," She finally answered.

Patrick pretended to contemplate what he would have her do, making Teresa a little nervous and impatient. Finally, he said, "I dare you to close your eyes and then take a sip of any drink that I give you."

"Okaaaaay." Teresa was not sure what to think of this dare, as Patrick went into the kitchen and came back with a cup.

"Alright, close your eyes." She did so and soon felt some cold liquid brush her lips. She took a sip from the cup that Patrick held for her, and was incredibly surprised to find that it actually tasted good. She opened her eyes to see him smiling. "I knew that you would like it."

"What is it?"

"A special tea mixture that I learned from a friend of a friend. I won't tell you what's in it(I was sworn to secrecy), but rest assured that it is nothing that will kill you."

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks. Alright, back to the game. Truth or dare?"

* * *

><p>Two hours later, the two were still playing the game and were much more relaxed.<p>

Okay, a lot relaxed: they had moved around the room as the performed various dares(who knew that Patrick could sing the Star-Spangled Banner while standing on one foot and balancing a pencil on his nose?), and were laughing as they found out new insights into each other(Teresa apparently had a hidden like of Cricket, occasionally watching it on t.v.). They had eventually found a comfortable spot on the floor next to the coffee table and were watching the ceiling fan turn as they asked 'truth or dare?' to each other.

They had kept the questions easy and not too uncomfortable, no deep and dark secrets had been revealed. Teresa was quite pleased to be only answering questions like "Who did you have a crush on as a teen?" and "If the world was about to end and you had to choose only one dessert, which would it be: chocolate ice cream or chocolate candy?". Jane seemed to be keeping the mind games to a minimum, although the dares were a bit strange: kissing while washing the dishes and attempting(miserably) to yodel.

The two finally stopped asking questions and just enjoyed the relaxing rhythm of the fan going around and around. Patrick suddenly sighed and Teresa turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"It's never a good thing when you think."

Patrick smiled a little. "True, my thoughts can be a bit scary at times."

Teresa propped herself up on her elbow. "So, tell me what scary thought you had this time."

Patrick paused before replying. "I was just wondering how this weekend will end. What decision will be made."

Teresa bit her lip. "Well, I haven't been thinking about my final answer much. I want to enjoy out time together and see how I feel Sunday evening. I do promise you that I will have an answer. The specifics I don't know yet."

Patrick turned to meet her gaze. "Thank you for at least trying. To see that you are even considering this to work out is quite impressive to me." He stood up quickly. "Enough talk of that, we are supposed to be enjoying ourselves, not being too serious."

Teresa stood up as well. "What do you have planned next?"

Patrick shrugged, but with a mischievous look in his eyes. "I don't know. I was thinking that we could move back to the bedroom and see what happens from there."

Teresa smiled. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

**Okay, that's the end of the chapter. I have hit a bit of writer's block and I am trying to figure out how to proceed with a part of the story. Please bear with me as I figure it out, and if you have any ideas for what you would like to see in the story, feel free to REVIEW this chapter and tell me your idea. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	10. The Tale of Dinner Talk

**Welcome back! In this next exciting installment of A Tale of Too Many Drinks, we join our lovers as they continue their lavish weekend together, laughing, talking and, well, you know. But the big question remains: will they stay together? Will they decide to stay as husband and wife, defying all laws of rational thought, or will they separate, never to be alone together ever again? Will Jane's wooing and annoying smirks win Lisbon over, or will Lisbon hold firm to sanity and turn Jane down? Will we ever know the answers to those questions? Will I ever stop asking stupid questions and just get on with the story? Well, maybe. **

**Okay, I admit, I have WAY too much fun writing these introductions, but I just wanted to let off a little writing steam and be dramatic. So, anyway, on with the story: ENJOY!**

That evening, after an afternoon spent in bed, the pair found themselves in the dining room enjoying a fine meal of Chinese take out and water(still no wine). They chatted about simple things, mostly just enjoying the food.

Teresa had been deep in thought for a while, when she suddenly asked Jane, "What would it be like?"

Jane looked up from his noodles. "What would what be like?"

Teresa set her chopsticks down and focused on Jane, "If we were to stay married, what would it be like? I liked this weekend, but I know that marriage is more than just a romantic weekend together."

Jane clasped his hands on the table said, "Well, could tell all our co-workers what happened, buy a place together, argue over paint colors and settle in as a normal couple. We could still have weekends together, but only for special occasions. Why, did you have other ideas for how our marriage would be?"

Teresa looked down at her hands, thinking. She looked back up at him and said, "Yes, actually I did think of one other option that we could try. Not a permanent option, mind you, but a temporary thing to try as we get used to the idea of being married."

Jane was intrigued. "Really? And what would that option be like?"

Teresa leaned in closer. "How about we don't tell our bosses or co-workers what happened to us, we keep it a secret. We don't move in together, as that would draw suspicion, but we spend the weekend here or at my place when we are not working. We hold off on the paint colors and just, well, have some fun before we settle down as a normal married couple. Not that I wouldn't want to live together, but I just think that we are in a special position to, well, have a little fun as a married couple. Eventually we will have to tell people about our marriage, but I just worry about what LaRoche will say. I doubt he will be too supportive, and I don't want to shake things up too much after the whole Hightower fiasco. What do you think?"

Jane thought about her idea for a moment before carefully replying, "I don't know. On one hand I think it would be a fun idea. Having our own secret affair together would be a interesting twist to our regular lives. But, on the other hand, I don't know if I care for the idea of keeping our marriage a secret from our co-workers. We have not done anything wrong, so we should be able to openly proclaim our marriage," Jane studied Lisbon, "Do you want to keep it a secret because you are ashamed of our marriage?"

Teresa quickly shook her head. "No, no, nothing like that. I just, well, I don't like people seeing my private life. Ever since I met you it seems like bit by bit my privacy is whittling away as you know more and more about me. Now that is not much of a problem since we're married, but I just like the idea of holding on to one last secret from people before I have to tell everyone that I got in a drunken marriage with the one person that I sometimes cannot stand," She sighed, "I guess what I am trying to say is that I do not feel ready to tell other people about our marriage. Sure, I agreed to it and am willing to work with it for hopefully the rest of my life, but I don't feel completely comfortable with people seeing me as Mrs. Patrick Jane. Until I can feel confident in that, I don't want to tell other people and have them judge us. Do you understand? Jane?"

Jane was sitting there grinning stupidly like a school boy. Teresa had expected him to be upset about not wanting to tell people she was married to him, but the grin was throwing her off. "Jane, are you okay?"

Jane kept grinning as he said, "You said that you want to stay married to me for the rest of your life."

Teresa stared at him, before realizing that she had pretty much said exactly that. "Hold on, I was just, um, well, I still have a day to officially decide. You can't take my statement as a decision."

Patrick stood up, clearing off the table, the grin lessened but his eyes still twinkling. "Of course. You do have until Sunday evening to decide. But, I have a feeling that I can see which direction you are going in."

Teresa crossed her arms, glaring at him. "How do you know? I could just as easily say forget all this and let's get an annulment."

"Uh huh, sure, whatever you say, _Mrs. Patrick Jane_." He called from the kitchen.

Teresa huffed, not sure how to respond, trying not to think about how good that name for her sounded.

**So? Thoughts? Comments? Insults? Deep intellectual thoughts on the inner philosophy of the Mentalist? Anything? Please leave in a REVIEW! Thank you! Sorry for all the talking and long explanations, but I wanted to get this whole conversation out of the way as easily as possible. Until next chapter, Li Li.**

_**P.S. Happy 10**__**th**__** Chapter! I would like to thank all my amazing readers who have stuck with me so far, to all the people who brighten my day with a review, and to those who liked my story enough to add it to their Favorite Story/Story Alert lists. Thank You Everyone! Here's to many more chapters in the future!**_


	11. Tale of Monday Morning

**Okay, everyone, I need to explain this chapter. **

**Last chapter it was Saturday and we were still enjoying Teresa and Patrick on their weekend together. Well, I skipped Sunday and this chapter is now set on Monday. Why did I skip Sunday entirely? Because I could not write it. I wanted to show Teresa conflicted about what to say to Patrick about their marriage. Should they stay married, should they not, etc. But the only thing I could think of while writing it was just her sitting in bed for a while thinking(Yawn). So, I decided, in order to keep the story rolling, I would just skip Sunday and move directly to Monday. You probably already know what Teresa was going to answer anyway, so now we can move on. **

**Sorry if you wanted to read more about their romantic weekend together but I did not want to stay on that for too long, I have more plot points to get to. Feel free to flame me, but I had to do it. Please ENJOY this chapter and the rest of the story.**

Patrick stepped out of his car and into the sun, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Ah, today was a new day. It was officially Monday and the first day of his newly agreed upon marriage to Lisbon.

They had talked on Sunday, agreeing to try their marriage together, knowing that they could get an annulment if it did not work out. After their talk, she had gone back to her own apartment so she could get ready for work. He had been happier than a Englishman with tea(hmm, tea, he needed to remember to restock the station's stash) and he was eager to see Lisbon again. Of course, he knew he would have to be careful when he saw Lisbon. She wanted to keep their marriage a secret for now, which he understood. After all the drama that had recently happened, the last thing everyone needed was another surprise. He figured he would work on easing people into thinking of Libson and him as a couple, then explain their situation to them. But for now, he had to act with discretion when around Lisbon.

And everyone knew how good he was at acting with discretion.

* * *

><p>Teresa was a nervous wreck.<p>

She had agreed to staying married to Jane, but only if they could keep their marriage a secret until a more appropriate time to tell all their coworkers and their boss. Jane had been so happy that she had agreed that she wondered if he had even listened to the part about not being open about their marriage. She could only hope that he would act with discretion when they were together, and would not reveal their secret prematurely.

But what was really making Teresa's nervous was the fact that discretion was not one of Patrick Jane's strong points.

* * *

><p>Teresa and Patrick arrived at the front door of the station at the same time, and Patrick politely opened the door for her. She acknowledged him with a glance, but said nothing. They rode the eleveator in silence, Teresa not knowing what to say and Patrick thinking of different things he could say to ease the tension.<p>

When the arrived at their floor, they both got off and Van Pelt greeted them.

"Hey you two. Have a good weekend?"

Teresa froze, while Jane smiled. "Yes, actually," He answered, "I had a great time. How about you, Lisbon?" He turned to her, "How was your weekend?"

Teresa fought the urge to glare at him and merely replied, "Fine. Nothing much to say about it. Now, Van Pelt, any new cases?"

Van Pelt nodded and walked with Teresa to her office, showing her the case file.

Patrick just smiled after them, quite eager to see how his first official day of marriage went.

**Okay, moment of truth: what did you think of the chapter? Like it? Love it? Flame it? Just tell me your thoughts in a REVIEW, thank you! Until next chapter(and I promise I won't jump ahead again), Li Li.**


	12. A Tale at Work

**Hello dear readers! I am quite happy with you all. I thought for sure that I would get a bunch of flames for skipping a day last chapter, but actually you all seemed to have understood why I had to skip it. The only negative was that last chapter was too short. No problem! I hope that this chapter makes up for it by being longer, and I hope that you will all ENJOY!**

Jane sighed in happiness as he sipped his tea. It was a new flavor he was trying and he decided that it would be his new flavor. So far, he had been able to last two hours without talking with Lisbon, which he was quite impressed with. Of course, it had been easy as she had practically locked herself in her office as to get some important reports written, and everyone(including yours truly) knew better than to disturb her during report writing time.

But now he could see, through watching through her office windows, that she was done and was now just reading new case files. The perfect time to go and say hi, maybe add a sarcastic remark with it.

He took another wonderful sip and headed towards her office, whistling a happy little ditty.

He knocked on her door. She didn't look up from her papers, just said, "come in!" Patrick went inside, closing the door behind him. She finally looked up, saying, "What can I do..." She stopped short when she saw it was him.

He grinned. "Hello, Lisbon."

She readjusted herself and said, "Jane, what do you want?"

Jane pretended to be hurt. "Why, Lisbon, can't I just come and see how you are doing once in a while?"

Teresa sighed. "Fine, but I am very busy at this time and do not want to be interrupted by your occasional visits."

He sat on the edge of her desk, leaning towards her. "I interrupt you? I apologize for that, but I do have something important and private that I thought that I would tell you, since, you know, we are kind of close." He winked at her, and she raised an eyebrow, checking to make sure her door was shut. She leaned in closer, with a worried look on her face.

"Okay, what's the matter?"

Jane leaned in until he was close to her face, whispering, "I think I found a new tea that we need to buy." He jumped up and left, giving her one last grin before he closed her door and headed back to his couch.

Teresa stared after him before she groaned and shook her head, focusing on her work again.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>Patrick sat fiddling with his tea cup, wondering if there would be a new case to focus his attention on or if he would have to focus on trying each tea in the kitchen area.<p>

Lisbon had finally left her office in order to talk with Van Pelt about a possible lead on a minor case they were working on. He had watched her for a while, and finally decided to go and see if he could be of some assistance on any cases they were working on.

He walked up and stood behind Lisbon, peeking over her shoulder at the papers in front of her. Van Pelt was talking, but stopped when she noticed Patrick. Lisbon jerked away from him when she followed Van Pelt's gaze.

"Jane, what is it?"

He shrugged. "Any new cases I can help with?"

Lisbon thought for a second, then sighed, handing the file to him. "Sure, you can take a look at this robbery case. About $25,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from a businessman's home while he and his wife were at dinner."

Patrick looked through the case file quickly, shut it and handed it back. "I would place my bets on the maid."

Van Pelt stared at him. "Why?"

"She keeps changing her story slightly as she talks, supposedly correcting herself, yet you can tell that she is trying to cover her tracks. Check her car, look for a blue suitcase and you will find all the jewelry since she has not been able to sell it yet."

Van Pelt wrote down his theory while Lisbon asked, "How do you know that?"

"She mentioned how the robbers took a blue suitcase as well, but then later kept saying that the robbers only took the jewelry and nothing else."

"And the car?"

Patrick grinned. "From what I can tell, she seems like the type to put something like that in her car until she can figure out what to do with it."

Lisbon sighed and turned to Van Pelt. "Alright, we'll follow this lead. Get a search warrant and see if we can get into the maid's car and home. As for you," She turned back to Jane, "If this works out, thanks."

Patrick shrugged. "That's what I'm here for right, honey."

Lisbon gasped slightly and Van Pelt looked up. Patrick just grinned and walked back to the kitchen area, hoping to try another flavor of tea.

Lisbon took a deep breath and headed towards her office, calling behind her to Van Pelt, "Let me know if we get the warrant, Grace, I'll be in my office checking other cases."

Van Pelt said okay, but was slightly confused about Jane using the term 'honey', and Lisbon seeming surprised. Hmm, she thought, picking up her phone, probably nothing but a slip of the tongue.

**Slip of the tongue indeed. So, what did you all think about this chapter? I am still refining what I want to happen during their time at work, but I hope that this keeps you all fat and happy(okay, maybe not fat. Well, only if you can eat the story. Which would be gross-ish) until I write again. Until next chapter, REVIEW! Li Li**


	13. Tale of Pizza and Plans

**Hello again my dearest of dear readers! Are you ready for another exciting/thrilling/suspenseful chapter in this story? Are you sure your ready? Are you completely sure? Are you so sure that you're sure your sure? Are you...(readers:) GET ON WITH IT! (Yes, an ode to Monty Python). Alright, alright already! Yeesh. Just wanted to be sure that you're sure that you're sure(runs off stage, shouting behind her) ENJOY!**

At lunch time, everyone except Lisbon and Jane went to the corner deli to get some sandwiches. Lisbon had decided to just order a basic pizza, while Jane said that he was fine and would find something to eat later.

After the others had left, Lisbon picked up her phone to call for a pizza, but stopped when she noticed Jane sitting on his couch still, fiddling with his tea cup. She decided to go out and see what he would like. She walked over to him and he looked up.

"Ah, I see you finally left your cave and decided to visit the outside world."

She rolled her eyes. "Jane, I have work to do. And if getting that work completed means being locked up in a 'cave', then so be it."

"But you need to get out more, move more, at least make sure you leave your office enough to get a drink or you'll get dehydrated."

Lisbon stared at him. "Why the sudden concern of my being in my office a lot?"

Jane shrugged, standing up. "I have just been noticing that you work a lot, and since we are, you know, I figured that gives me the right to worry about you more."

Lisbon glanced around the office. "Well, I guess you can order the pizza and get me some sort of desert item since we are, 'you know', and I want to make sure that the labor is split equally between us." She smiled at him and handed him the phone before taking his spot on the couch and relaxing.

Jane was not sure if he liked her new way of looking at their marriage, but ordered the pizza anyway, making sure to order some cinnamon buns as well.

When the pizza came, Jane brought it over to Lisbon, who had still not left the couch, and sat down. Lisbon's eyes brightened when she saw the cinnamon buns.

"I knew there was a reason I had you order the pizza."

"I thought it was to 'split the labor', as you put it."

Lisbon shrugged as she grabbed a slice of pizza. "I am allowed to have multiple reasons to have you do things."

* * *

><p>Once the pizza was finished, everyone had come back from lunch and work continued. Well, at least for everyone except Jane. He was stuck once again without a case and the only thing to occupy his thoughts being Lisbon.<p>

Not that he was complaining, mind you.

He was trying to think of a way to sneak into her office to, well, he had not yet decided on what to do when he got in. He just wanted to get in. But that was kind of difficult right then as people kept going in and out of her office, discussing cases and taking her paperwork. He finally decided that he needed a good excuse to get in, and having her put a new tea on the grocery list was not going to work again(ah, he actually had a grocery list with Lisbon!).

He walked around the office, watching her door, peaking in from behind furniture, observing the situation. Van Pelt finally noticed what he was doing after he tried to hide by her desk while he looked at Teresa's door.

"Can I help you?" Van Pelt asked. Patrick smiled and stood up.

"Yes, actually you can."

**Okay, what do you think? Sorry for the long wait and short chapter, but I had several events happening at once that all required my attention. Also, feel free to suggest anything that Van Pelt can 'help' with as, at this time, I have no clue. But that is the fun of my writing, just making it up as I go and running with random ideas. Please REVIEW and let me know what you think of the chapter and if you have any new ideas for the next chapter! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	14. Tale of Printers and Plans

**Good day my wonderful readers! I am back with another chapter, yay! I did get one suggestion from one of you that had be laughing my head off. Thank you Viviskilener-jisbonist4ever for brightening my day with your ideas. Now, on to the chapter, ENJOY!**

Van Pelt frowned at Patrick's idea. "Are you sure you want to do that? Can't you just go and knock on her door like a regular person?"

Patrick grinned. "Ah, but you see Grace, I am not a regular person. I like to make things interesting, and Teresa needs to have an interesting day. She needs to be distracted for a bit."

"Why? Did something happen to her over the weekend that she wants to forget?"

Patrick quickly shook his head. "Oh, no, no, nothing bad happened to her over the weekend. Whatever gave you that idea?"

Van Pelt glanced at Teresa's office and leaned towards to Patrick. "She has been acting kind of strange today. When I am talking with her, at times it is like her mind is off somewhere else. She seems to be nervous about something. I want to see if she is okay, but I don't want to get into her personal life."

Patrick put his hand on her shoulder. "You are a good friend Grace, and an observant one. Trust me when I say that Lisbon is not worried about anything bad. I think it is mostly just stress from work. The whole Hightower thing has put her on edge."

Van Pelt nodded. "Of course, she was the one who had to deal with all the press coverage and be the one to explain what happened to all our superiors. I thought that Las Vegas would have helped her relax, but it seems to have stressed her out even more."

Patrick shrugged. "Possibly. But that is why I need your help with my plan, Grace, so that we can help Lisbon relax and loosen up a bit. Are you in?"

Van Pelt nodded. "I'm in. But how do I get a dress in your size?"

* * *

><p>Teresa was in her office, mentally cursing her computer for taking so long to print her report. Apparently her computer and the printer were having a couple's squabble. Either that or the printer cheated on her computer with a laptop. But whatever the case, Teresa was not pleased that she could not print the last sheet of paper that she needed in order to be done with boring paperwork for the day, so she could focus on possible case leads.<p>

She was also tired of comparing everything to marriage(couple's squabble indeed). It seemed like everywhere she looked she was reminded of marriage, Las Vegas, or Jane. Of course, it did not help that Jane kept watching her from outside her office. She had been getting a bit annoyed with him constantly watching her, but he finally disappeared at some point, letting her focus on her work, and on trying to find a couple's therapist for her computer and printer.

Alas, she should have known better than to think that Patrick Jane had gone away to do something good or at least non-trouble-making. She should have been instantly worried when he was out of eyesight. Instead, she was completely shocked when Patrick Jane suddenly walked in her office and said, "Hello. Are you busy?"

**Hmmmm, perhaps I should be super duper evil and end the chapter right there. Would that be the worst cliff hanger I have ever done? Maybe. But, I feel that it would be cruel to leave you all hanging like that after such a short chapter. So, because I am sooooo nice and loving and kind and wonderful and perfect of an author, I will continue. And yes, I enjoy sarcasm and making you guys wait slightly long to read more. Okay, okay, on with the chapter!**

Teresa gaped at him, not fully comprehending what he was wearing.

Van Pelt had done her magic to find Jane an old blue grandma style dress(perfectly fitting him), with a white wig, black heel shoes, an oversize brown purse and a purple hat on top. He also wore old-fashioned spectacles on his nose, where he peered down at Teresa, a completely innocent look on his face.

Teresa slowly stood up and calmly said, "Jane, what in the name of sanity(Doctor Who reference :) are you wearing?"

Jane pretended to be confused. "I have no idea what you are talking about. What I asked was are you busy?"

Teresa shook her head, still staring at his wig. "Not really. I am having a slight printer issue, but..."

"Perfect! Come with me." Patrick grabbed her purse, threw her cell phone on the desk, gave the purse to her and took her hand. "Follow me!"

"But, Jane, what, what, what about my phone?" Teresa tried to ask as she stumbled after him.

Patrick shrugged. "You will not be needing it where we are going."

"But where are we going?"

Patrick stopped and gave her a grin. "A surprise."

Teresa began to wonder if she should yell for help, or if she should just pray that Jane's 'surprise' would not be absolutely terrifying. Although being hauled around police headquarters by a Patrick Jane dressed up in an old lady outfit was pretty terrifying in itself.

**Alright, this is finally the end of this chapter. But I want to know: how many of you would think that being kidnaped by Patrick Jane in an old lady outfit would be scary? Or would it be fun? Or are you hoping right now that Patrick Jane will be at your door dressed like that in order to take you away on an adventure and/or romantic getaway? :) I enjoy asking questions like that, it makes me feel like laughing since I probably know what at least half of you would say(at least the screaming fan girls would say). Anyway, moving on, please REVIEW, and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	15. A Tale of Wigs and Cases

**Good day amazing readers! Here is the next installment in my(personal opinion) totally cool story :) Last chapter, I have to admit, I had a TON of fun writing and I hope you thought it was good as well. So, to continue this random funess of these couple chapters, ENJOY!**

Jane had led Lisbon all over the station, making Teresa think that he was either trying to confuse her or just to let everyone admire him in his new clothing style.

Finally, they arrived at his attic storage space-office, where he closed the door and grinned at her.

"We're here."

Teresa looked around. "Okay, I have been 'here' before, so what's up?"

Patrick just shrugged and walked over to his desk. "Nothing much. I just thought that perhaps you would work better if you got away from your paperwork and focused on actual cases. I brought up a pile that are still open, thinking that maybe actually using your brain to do something other than typing would be good for you."

Teresa gave him a weary eye. "Alright, I can get behind that. But what's with the outfit? Thought you might give cross-dressing a chance?"

Patrick laughed, shaking his head. "No, not really. I just knew that the only way I could get you to come up here was to use the shock factor to make you stunned enough not to think too much. And it worked. But do you think I pull cross-dressing off?"

Teresa finally laughed, rolling her eyes. "Oh yes, most definitely. I have always hoped that my husband would be a man who was so in touch with his grandmotherly, feminine, ugly hat side."

Patrick bowed dramatically, fixing his wig. "Yes, I do rather like this new side to myself. Now, to task, shall we?" He motioned to the box of case files on his desk.

Teresa nodded, grabbing the top file and beginning.

* * *

><p>By the time Van Pelt arrived at the room, Lisbon and Jane had already solved one case, were needing more information on two, and had a plan of attack on three that they would work on the next day. Van Pelt was quite impressed to see Lisbon relaxed in her chair, arguing with Jane over a clue in a case.<p>

"I am telling you, Jane, that substance is only a simple baking ingredient, nothing more."

"And I am telling you, Lisbon, that substance could be used to poison someone, if used in the right amount."

Van Pelt knocked on the door, which was ajar, startling the room's occupants. "Sorry, I just wanted to come and see if you guys are going to go home now that the work days over."

Lisbon looked at her watch, shocked. "Wow, I cannot believe that we have been up here that long," She groaned as a realization hit her, "and I still need to print that stupid piece of paper with a broken printer."

"Actually, Rigsby fixed your printer, got it to work together with your computer again, and the printer actually printed off the last page on its own. I gathered the papers together and set them on your desk," Van Pelt explained.

"Thank you so much, Grace, and tell Rigsby that he just earned himself a free coffee. Alright, Jane are you ready to go?"

Jane looked up at her, a glint in his eye. "Why, were you planning on taking me somewhere special, Lisbon?"

Teresa glared at him slightly. "Of course not, I just don't think you should be up here all night working."

Van Pelt stared the two of them. "Um, okay, I'll be going now. I'll see you two tomorrow."

After she left, Lisbon smacked Jane with her file. "Would you try to be a little less suspicious? I don't want people to figure out that we are married yet, especially not through rumors."

Jane stood up, putting their files back in the box. "Don't worry, Lisbon, no body will think we are married, I promise."

Teresa gave him a hard look before heading towards the door.

Jane called after her, "They will probably just think that we are sleeping together, that's all." He ducked as the file that she had still been holding flew at his head.

Teresa called back, "Well, if you even want to try and fulfill that rumor, you better lose the wig and pantyhose before coming to my place."

Jane looked down at his clothes, realizing that he had not changed out of his costume yet. He yanked the wig off his head, calling to Teresa, "Okay, fine, the wig's gone, but I'm keeping the pantyhose on."

**Okay, yes, I had way too much fun with this chapter. And, in case you are getting really creepy thoughts about Patrick Jane, I do not THINK he was wearing pantyhose. Of course, in this story world he could have decided to go all out. Who knows, I will let you decide for yourself :) Moving on, you all know the drill, please REVIEW and I will get to work on the next chapter. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	16. The Tale of Two Envelopes

**Good day, my most amazing readers! Are you ready for a new chapter? Um, anyone? Anyone at all? Hello? People? (chirp, chirp, chirp). I hope you are all actually shouting for joy at the thought of a new chapter, but since I am not a mind reader(unlike Jane, at times), please ENJOY and let me know what you think in a review! Oh, and also, a reader mentioned the whole thing of them working on different cases thing, that was artistic license. I have no idea if that would even be allowed, but I figured why not.**

Lisbon shook her head as she gathered up her stuff. Jane could be so infuriating at times. But, unfortunately, he did have a point. People might not think she and Jane were married, but if they kept acting odd people might think they were sleeping together. The last thing she wanted was for people to believe that she was having an affair with Patrick Jane.

But, as she headed towards the elevators, she pushed her worries aside and decided that some ice cream at home would be the perfect cure.

As she walked to her car, she remembered that if ice cream was on the menu, she had to be sure to get enough for two. Jane had agreed to come over for the night and they would discuss if he would be at her place on weekdays and then she would go to his place on the weekends. They needed to sort out some arrangement. Not that she did not like occasionally being spontaneous, but normally she liked having a system of doing things. And her marriage to Jane would have to develop some sort of system soon. But, perhaps tonight Jane could help her ease up on the system obsession and just have an evening with her husband. And ice cream. Never forget the ice cream.

When she reached her car, she noticed an unmarked envelope on her windshield. Experience had taught her to be cautious with this sort of thing. She looked around her, not seeing or hearing anything suspicious. She carefully took the envelope and opened it.

Inside was something that almost caused Teresa's heart to skip a beat, as she realized one very important thing she had forgotten to check.

* * *

><p>While Lisbon was busy going to her car, Patrick was cleaning up his room upstairs, putting the files back in their boxes and tidying up the chairs.<p>

He was trying to be quick in his cleaning, eager to get to Lisbon's. He figured some pizza and an evening on the couch, or in her bed(depending on the mood) was in order. He was pleased that she was less stressed, but he wanted to work on helping her relax not only at work, but at home as well, where he knew that she was stressed out by just thinking of work. And cuddling with him was just the relaxation technique he was willing to teach her.

As he closed the door behind him, eager to see Teresa again, he noticed an envelope on the floor. He picked it, noting the lack of address or any markings. He opened it and started at the item in his hand, not truly believing what he was seeing.

**Ooooh, envelopes. That always means that fun stuff is on the way. Sorry for the short chapter, but I hit no inspiration and thought I should post something as I begin to work on the next chapter. As above, no mind-reader here, so please REVIEW and I will continue working on the next chapter. Also, I do not think I have clarified one important point that I randomly thought of today. WARNING! SPOILER ALERT for Mentalist Season Finale! Okay, in my story, the whole Patrick killing Red John thing did not happen. I loved the ending to the show, but I already had my storyline laid out and that would have not worked. Anyway, until next chapter, Li Li.**


	17. A Tale of a Test

**Hi again everyone! I know that this was a super fast update, that is because I am trying to get back on the schedule of updating each Saturday. No idea if I will keep that schedule up, but that is my present goal. Also, I know how thrilling, suspenseful, exciting, etc, etc (lol) my last update was, so I decided it would be cruel to keep you all in suspense. So, without further ado, ENJOY!**

Lisbon was in her car, driving as fast as she could to the closest grocery store. She knew that she had been stupid and naive to forget the most important, possible detail of her marriage. Of course, whoever put that envelope on her car knew about her and Jane, or at least knew they had been sleeping together. That worried her, of course, knowing that some mysterious person was that close to her private life, but she knew she would probably find whoever placed that envelope on her car later. Right now, she had more important things to focus on.

* * *

><p>Jane stood slumped against the door that he had just closed, trying to comprehend what he held in his hand and who could have possibly put it in an envelope for him. Whoever they were had a sick sense of humor, or was trying to send a message. He knew that someone must know about his marriage, that could only explain why they would give him that envelope. But who? And what were they trying to say to him? Or warn him about?<p>

Jane knew he needed to find Lisbon fast, to be certain that she was safe. He carefully put the envelope and the item it contained in his pocket and raced towards the elevators, needing to catch Lisbon before she left for her apartment.

* * *

><p>When Lisbon got to the store, she quickly found what she needed and began to drive home. She did not want to stay in the store any longer than needed, feeling as though she was being followed. Once she was driving home, she no longer felt followed, but she was still on edge. The envelope still sat in her purse, she had refused to use the coupon, yes a coupon, that had been inside. She wanted to try and see if she could get any prints off it, although she knew that would probably be unlikely. She still felt like she should keep it, just to be certain that this dream, maybe even a nightmare, was real.<p>

* * *

><p>Jane groaned when she saw that Lisbon had left. He needed to talk with her about the item in his pocket. He was tempted to hide it from her, but he felt that their marriage did not need any sort of secrets or deception, that was one thing he wanted to avoid at all costs. Now, he could only hope that she was safely at home, as he ran to his car and drove towards her apartment.<p>

He still felt the weight of the envelope in his pocket, and he touched it frequently as he drove, wanting to be sure that he was not imagining what it contained. How someone was able to get that picture was beyond him, but he intended to track down that person and have a good talk with them about stealing photographs from people.

Lisbon arrived at her apartment first, locking the door behind her and pulling the blinds down. That made her feel safer, and she rushed towards the bathroom and locked the door.

Jane was relieved when he saw Lisbon's car in front of her apartment building. He went upstairs and was able to break in(Lisbon still needed to give him a key) and went inside. He was curious when he saw the blinds down and noticed that her bathroom door was closed, a light coming from within. He decided to wait on the sofa until she came out, which she did, presently.

She practically jumped when she saw him. "Gee, Jane, you need to stop scaring people like that."

"Sorry," He said, getting up, "But I did not want to interrupt you while you were in the bathroom."

The two stood there in awkward silence, and then said simultaneously, "I need to show you something."

Jane motioned to Lisbon. "You first."

Lisbon took a deep breath and showed Jane a pregnancy test strip, his breathing stopping when he saw the symbol on it.

"I'm pregnant."

**Alright, got that bomb shell out of the way. I am super excited about getting that announcement done, as the rest of the story(or most of it, at least) should be super cool. I actually have some pretty good ideas for the rest of it, but I will need to work out the specific details. Anyway, please REVIEW and let me know what you think. Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	18. The Tale of Decisions

**A good and wonderful day to all my readers! I want to clear up one thing before you can all enjoy the newest chapter: one of my readers noted that how could Lisbon know that she is pregnant so soon after her marriage to Jane? Well, I may have forgotten that issue, so if you could all just pretend, for the story's sake, that it was a longer period of time between when Lisbon and Jane were married before they were 'back together', I would greatly appreciate it. I honestly think there would have been more time between when they got married until they could get the annulment papers all sorted out. Okay then, just wanted to address that issue, so now for the chapter. ENJOY!**

Jane stared at Lisbon. "Pregnant?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I know, a bit shocking. I had not even thought of the possibility of being pregnant until tonight."

Jane slowly sat down. "Yeah, I know what you mean. That did not even cross my mind for a moment until I was leaving work."

"Why? What happened at work?"

Jane reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope and handed it to her. Lisbon opened it and was stunned when she saw what it contained.

Smiling up at her were the smiling faces of Jane's wife and daughter, seeming to have been taken a short time before their deaths. They were sitting on the beach, trying to make a large sand castle. Lisbon looked up at Jane, not knowing what to say.

"That was about three before they were killed," Jane explained slowly, "They wanted to make the biggest sand castle ever made, and I was put in charge of chronicling their great feat. We only had one picture printed, and that had been placed in storage along with all the other pictures of them. I have no idea how anyone could have gotten that photo, or why they would be so cruel as to give that to me after I had just remarried."

Lisbon closed the envelope and picture up again and set it down, reaching into her own pocket. "Whoever did that is someone who knows too much about us. They have to know we are married, because look what they left on my windshield."

Jane opened the envelope, startled to see that it contained a coupon for ½ off a pregnancy test. He looked up at her. "Yeah, definitely someone with a sick mind if they think that leaving us those two things was a joke, or a warning."

"A warning about what?"

"I have no clue. But we need to be more careful and on our guard from now on, just in case this person is dangerous."

Lisbon nodded as she sat down beside him. "I was also thinking that we should tell everyone about our marriage. I want them to hear it from us before whoever this mystery person is decides to tell them for us."

"Agreed," Jane grinned slightly, "We would need to do that anyway, unless you don't think your baby bump will be enough of a clue for them."

Lisbon smacked him in the arm, and then placed her hand on her stomach. "Wow, I am really going to have a baby."

"No," Jane said, placing his hand on top of hers, "_We_ are going to have a baby."

* * *

><p>The next day was the big day. Teresa and Patrick had talked over the previous night, trying to decide how best to approach their co-workers about their marriage and soon-to-be baby, and had finally decided that just be up-front about it and announcing it to at least Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho would be best. Eventually the rest of the office would find out, as gossip spread faster than wild fire there.<p>

Lisbon was nervous the next day as she drove, but she kept reassuring herself that telling everyone would be the best thing and that she would be able to relax more at work. Besides, if everyone knew she was pregnant they would know better than to mess with her or bug her as her pregnancy hormones could kick in at any time and she could really kick someone's butt.

Jane, while driving, was actually quite excited to be telling everyone about his marriage. He was looking forward to being able to show his affection to Lisbon without having to hide it, and to soon be able to show off his baby to all of them. He figured he would definitely need a bigger wallet to hold all the pictures that he planned on carrying with him. He loved being the doting father, it was a role that he had missed and was eager to fill again.

They arrived at work and met at the front entrance, going in together and mentally prepping themselves for the big announcement. When they got to their office section, Lisbon called Van Pelt, Rigsby and Cho over to Jane's couch. Once the three were over there, Lisbon began.

"I, well, Jane and I actually, have some important news to tell you all. Over the past couple months we have not been completely honest about something that happened to us while we were in Las Vegas," She took a deep breath, "See, Jane and I, um, well, we..."

"Are you two married?"

**Dang interrupting person, just can't wait for Lisbon to tell the big news. But who is it? Hmmm, I guess you will have to stay tuned for the next chapter(unless you are not for some reason watching this story on the t.v. or listening to it on the radio, then I guess 'staying tuned' would be kind of difficult). But, before you go, please REVIEW and tell me your thoughts, feelings and, um, other stuff about this chapter. Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	19. The Tale of a Guess

**Hi again dear readers! I was quite pleased to see that the last chapter left you all guessing :) I hope that who I chose meets your expectations. As a side note, one of my readers noted that she wished for this story not to become a typical 'Lisbon gets pregnant' kind of story. I have only read one story where she got pregnant, but I think I understand what kind of story that would fall under. I promise that this story will not become that. In fact, I have several 'fun' things that will happen throughout the story, so just stay tuned. However, if you feel like this story is becoming corny, just let me know so I can adjust. Anyway, just wanted to address that issue. On with the story! ENJOY!**

Everyone spun around at the voice, to see Hightower leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

Lisbon tried to speak, but was unable to form sentences or even thoughts, after seeing the woman who had been through practically hell standing there revealing Lisbon's secret marriage.

Hightower looked at the couple expectantly. "So, did you?"

"Yes, we did. Quite a story to go with that, actually," Jane answered, pleased that Hightower was the one to break the ice.

The other three occupants were still processing this information. Cho was not surprised, but wanted to know the details; Van Pelt was pleased and excited for them; and Rigsby, well, he was just plain shocked and confused.

Jane turned to them. "So, what you guys think? Any well wishes, angry fits, even sobbing to add?"

Van Pelt rolled her eyes and stepped forward to give Jane a hug. "I am very happy for you two. I thought you two were acting strange, and this seems to be a good thing to act strange about."

Lisbon could only smile as Van Pelt gave her a hug, still trying to figure out what to say next.

Rigsby shook their hands awkwardly. "Well, I must say this is a shock, but, hey, good for you two. I wish you the best." The couple nodded their thanks, then Cho stepped up to shake their hands.

"Congratulations. Glad to see that you two finally woke up and smelled the roses." Lisbon and Jane just stared at him, flabbergasted at this response.

Hightower waited until the end to come up and give the two a hug. "I wish you two the greatest happiness possible, and also lots of luck, since you will be needing that even more."

"Um, yeah, thanks," Lisbon replied, still unsure as to why Hightower was even there.

Jane decided to explore that issue. "So, Madeleine, what brings you here?"

She smiled sadly. "Well, I have to go and report to LaRoche about everything that happened when I was in hiding."

"But I thought you already went in for questioning and gave them your report?" Van Pelt asked.

"I did, but apparently LaRoche wants to clear up a few more things before I am allowed to go back to my normal life," Hightower headed towards LaRoche's office, when Lisbon suddenly realized something.

"Wait, how did you know about Jane and I being married?"

Hightower just smiled. "Just a guess."

The couple just stared after her, not quite sure what that meant.

* * *

><p>During the rest of the afternoon, everyone went back to working on cases, but Van Pelt was the one to sit in Lisbon's office and learn the story of the Las Vegas marriage. Jane couldn't stop grinning and was actually able to solve two cases with Rigsby, while telling him the whole story. Cho kept working, but listened to every word.<p>

At lunch, Jane and Lisbon met in her office and decided against revealing her pregnancy until the marriage surprise had sunk in.

By the time work was done, half the office knew about the marriage, while LaRoche's knowledge of it was still a mystery. But, the couple did not want to have to worry about their boss for the day and proceeded to leave the office together, although driving away in their separate cars.

Lisbon was in high spirits as she headed to the grocery store to get some dinner for her and Jane. Her team was happy with her marriage, Hightower seemed to be doing well, and she was beginning to get excited about her expectant motherhood.

Jane was likewise ecstatic about his impending fatherhood and was whistling as he drove, excited about getting some wine and heading over to Lisbon's place.

**Okay, so no cliffhanger this week. Well, unless Which Wine Does Jane Pick Out? How Many Frozen Dinners Will Teresa Go Through Before She Finds One That She Likes? does it for you in the thrilling question department. I am sorting out the details for how the story will go, but I thought I should update this story now while I plan my next chapter. Please REVIEW and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	20. A Tale of a Confrontation

**Hello again my wonderful readers! Are you all as eager as I am for the season premiere of the Mentalist coming up soon? I am so excited to see what happens next and if there will be any major changes to the storyline(not that it will affect my story, probably, but it might give me more ideas). Anyway, please REVIEW my story, and ENJOY!**

The couple arrived at Lisbon's apartment; Jane with a wonderful brand of non-alcoholic sparkling juice, and Lisbon with a semi-healthy microwave meal set, and two cartons of chocolate ice-cream(Jane could have half a spoon's worth, if the suddenly-craving-chocolate Lisbon would let him).

They kept the talking to a minimum, and then settled down to dinner. While eating, the phone rang.

Lisbon answered it. "Hello?"

"Agent Lisbon, this is LaRoche."

"Oh, hello sir. How are you today?"

"A bit confused, actually. I have heard several interesting stories about your and Mr. Jane. I was hoping that you two would be able to meet me in my office tomorrow morning and help clear some of those stories up."

"Of course sir, we will both be there."

"Very well. Good night."

Lisbon turned back to Jane, who was staring at his cell phone. "I guess we will have that interesting conversation with LaRoche tomorrow. Why are you staring at your cell?"

"Oh, just waiting to see if he will call me."

"Why would he call you?"

Jane looked at her, amused. "How else will I know if I am supposed to meet him tomorrow if he fails to tell ME? Unless, I suspect this is the case, he already knows that I am somewhere close by where you can just tell me personally, or I can just listen in on your phone conversation."

Lisbon sat down. "Do you really think he suspects that much?"

"Suspects? Oh, I think he is positive about us being in some sort of relationship."

"Yeah, well, that is probably true. How do you think he'll take the full story?"

"Slightly bemused, maybe reprimand us for not telling him the second it happened, but I think we will not have to worry about his sneaky little eyes darting into our private lives any more. Speaking of which, how are we going to arrange that with the, well, newest addition soon to arrive?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean our living situation: house, taxes, insurance, little magnets that have our picture with a heart around it, all those important items that we have to adjust now that we are married and are now open about it with everyone. If you want, I can totally get those little magnets for us, maybe I could even get the picture on a mug."

Lisbon rolled her eyes, grabbing some ice cream from the fridge. "Okay, you do that. And while you focus on the mugs, I'll work on figuring out what we'll say to LaRoche, all by myself."

"Good. Glad that we decided that. But first I need an actual picture of us to put on the mug. Hey! Maybe we could go back to Vegas and get a picture in some sort of chapel with Elvis, then we could give it to LaRoche as a souvenir!"

"Jane!"

* * *

><p>The next morning, Lisbon was a bundle of nerves as they rode the elevator up to their office. Worries over whether LaRoche would just reprimand or even fire them(or at least Jane) constantly ran through her head. She had reviewed the story of their marriage in her mind, but every time she knew that no matter how you spun it, both she and Jane had acted recklessly and stupidly. Also, she could not figure out a good reason for why they had decided to stay married. She thought about using the pregnancy as an excuse, but she was not ready to reveal that bit of information yet. Maybe she could just blame the long term effects of drunkenness for why she had agreed to stay married to Jane. Nope, still did not work in her head.<p>

Jane, picture of calm. He had not yet told Lisbon, but he had actually ordered a pair of mugs with their names(unfortunately, no picture could be found) with a fancy heart around it. He thought she might like it and might help lighten the mood when she saw them. As for the coming confrontation with LaRoche, he wasn't worried about it. They would just tell the truth, the insane, drunken truth of their marriage. He figured LaRoche would just raise an eyebrow or two, then they could go back to work. Of course, he was worried about whether Lisbon would be punished for hiding the marriage for so long, but he decided that they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

When they arrived at work, the team watched them as the couple headed towards LaRoche's office, all of them knowing that whatever happened in that office, now was the time to start placing bets.

Lisbon was about to knock, when the door opened and LaRoche stood there, perfectly calm, and he said, "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Jane. Please come in."

**So? What did you think? Please share your thoughts in a REVIEW, and I will update as fast as I can. Until next chapter, Li Li.**

**P.S. Happy 20****th**** Chapter! I am so thankful for all my wonderful readers, and a BIG thank you to all of those who take the time to review my story. Your encouragement pushes me forward. I hope to enjoy many more chapters with you all! And yes, I am incredibly sentimental and like to celebrate random milestones in writing my fan fiction. Again, THANK YOU EVERYONE!**


	21. Tale of Meeting LaRoche

**Good day dear readers! Here is the next thrilling and/or long-awaited for next chapter. Or, in your possible case, ho-hum and/or long-dreaded next chapter. Or a possible in between. Any way you choose, please REVIEW, and ENJOY!**

"Please, have a seat," LaRoche said as he sat behind his desk. Jane and Lisbon carefully sat down, trying to guage LaRoche's attitude. "I think that before we discuss any possible repercussions for your long deception concerning your marriage, I think I should hear the whole story about your little trip to Las Vegas."

And so the pair explained their trip, adding details to one another's part, while trying not to make it sound as insane as it really was(failing miserably at that).

When they were finally finished, they both waited for LaRoche to give his verdict. They had to wait a couple minutes for him to speak as he sat thoughtfully watching them. The pair knew this was just a way to make them nervous, and for Lisbon it was definitely working. Jane just watched LaRoche back.

Finally, LaRoche said, "I can see that your 'relationship' has been quite...interesting. I appreciate you two telling me the whole story, I know with all the oddities of it, it must have been hard to tell. I disapprove of your secretiveness about the marriage, but you two have no broken any rules, so you two are free to go back to work."

Lisbon was relieved. "Thank you sir." They all stood up.

"Just be sure not to let such secrets happen again."

Lisbon nodded. "Of course, sir, never again."

Jane nodded in agreement and the two headed to the door.

"Just one more thing, Mr. and Mrs. Jane," LaRoche said, "I have a question."

"Yes, sir?" Lisbon asked, getting a little nervous again.

"When were you two planning on telling me that you were pregnant?"

**Yes, I should be tracked down and flamed like crazy for a short chapter like that! But, I have confession to make: Hi, I'm Li Li and I am addicted to Cliffhanger Endings. I just could not continue the chapter after I came up with such a ending. I am sorry(tears well up), but I do promise that next chapter will be longer and hopefully you will like it. So, feel free to flame me in a REVIEW if you need to, and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	22. The Tale of The Letter

**Hello everyone! I am back and this time with a longer chapter. ENJOY!**

Lisbon and Jane stood there, staring at LaRoche, not sure what to say.

Lisbon's brain was going over every possible explanation for how LaRoche could have known about the pregnancy, while Jane was suspicious over LaRoche's knowledge of their private lives, especially after the whole picture/coupon incident.

"Well?" LaRoche asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jane decided to be the one to explain. "We were going to tell everyone once the news of our marriage had settled down, but I think you owe US an explanation for how you knew that, when we barely even just learned it ourselves."

"I didn't know for sure. Someone sent me a letter, to my home, that said that not only were you two married(I confirmed that after hearing rumors around the office), but that you were to be expecting a baby together."

"Do you still have that letter?" Jane asked.

"Of course, it was too suspicious to toss out." LaRoche pulled a small envelope out of his briefcase and handed it to Jane, who read it along with Lisbon, the two getting more and more astounded as they read.

The letter stated in basic terms the situation of Jane and Lisbon getting married in Vegas, then explained the most assured fact that they would be expecting a baby in a few months. What was really creepy was the fact that the letter described how Jane and Lisbon had been living apart, but getting together on the weekends, complete with a description of who went to who's house and how long they were there.

When they were done reading, Jane asked, "May I keep this?"

LaRoche nodded. "I suppose you may, unless there is a case involved with it, I have no reason to keep it," He sat back down, "I think you two should go back to work, and let me know if you come up with any answers as to who could have known all those details."

Lisbon and Jane nodded and headed out, but Jane peeked his head back in, "Just one last question. Where did you find the letter at your house?"

"On the mat in front of my front door."

"Okay, just wanted to know." Jane closed the door.

Lisbon led the way back to her office, where she closed the door and they both sat down. Lisbon began, "Who the heck could have written that letter? There is no reasonable explanation for anyone knowing all those details."

"Of course there is. Anyone could have found our marriage certificate, concluded that we got married when we were intoxicated, and then they could have followed us around and seen when we spent the night together."

"But how could anyone have figured out that we were pregnant?"

"I don't know. Probably however the person who sent us that picture and coupon figured it out."

"You think those two are connected?"

Jane nodded, twirling the letter in his hand. "Oh yes, more definitely. In fact, probably the same exact person who is doing it. All we need to find out is why anyone would have the obsessiveness to watch us so closely that they would find out that we got married, and then why they would want us to find out if we were having a baby, and then why they would think of telling LaRoche any of this. There has to be a reason, and I intend to find out what it is."

Lisbon sat back. "Alright then, what's our next move?"

"To live at your place, if you want to."

"What? No, Jane, I meant..."

"I know what you meant," Jane grinned, "I'll put my feelers out and contact old associates who might be able to five ms a clue. In the meantime, I think we should focus on figuring out our new living arrangements and prepare for our baby."

Lisbon sighed, putting her head in her hands. "You are right, that's what we should be focusing on. How about we meet back at my place after work to discuss our moving decisions?"

Jane jumped up. "Great, I'll go see if VanPelt has any new cases to go over."

Lisbon nodded. "Alright, I have a lot of paperwork to fill out, so I'll see you later, oh, and Jane," Jane stopped half way out the door.

"Yes?"

"Cancel that order for those mugs, we don't need the clutter."

Jane stared at her, and then left, his mouth beginning to form a pout.

* * *

><p>That night, the two arrived at Lisbon's apartment without incident, and settled down to eat take-out and talk.<p>

Jane was all for moving into Lisbon's apartment, the bigger of the two apartments, but Lisbon thought they should try and get a bigger place with an extra bedroom, which Lisbon's place had but was currently covered in storage boxes and papers.

"I just think that getting our own place would be the best plan. Even just a rental would work," Lisbon explained while taking a bite of chicken with noodles.

Jane shrugged, munching on some veggies. "Perhaps, but do you really think you are up for looking for a house? With your job and all the drama that will be coming out concerning our pregnancy..."

"I thought we already went through that drama?" Lisbon interrupted.

"Well, the close-to-us drama. I am talking about what will happen when the press gets a hold of this news."

"Why would the press care?"

"Because they are the press, and we have worked many high-profile cases together, so I am in the news a lot. Just wait, you will have to get to used to being the wife a celebrity."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow. "Celebrity? More like Celebrity Babysitter."

"Ha ha, very funny. Anyway, I just think that we should wait a while for things to cool down before looking for a place," Jane took another bite, then said, "On the other hand, if you do wish to buy or rent a place, I am sure that I could look around while you work, I happen to know several nice Realtors, a couple of them out on probation, that I am sure..."

"We'll wait until things cool down." Lisbon decided, the thought of Jane finding them a house slightly scaring her.

"Well, if you insist."

**So, what did you think? I can still not sense what people think like Patrick can, but I am very good at reading reviews, so please REVIEW, and I will get to work on the next chapter. Thank you, and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	23. The Tale of Worries

**Bonjour everyone! Sorry, just watched the movie **_**Julie & Julia**_**. A really cute film, and actually does inspire me to try and do something for a long time (maybe not 365 days). But I think I should start with updating this story first :) So here is the next chapter, ENJOY!**

Teresa heaved a sigh as she set down a pile of books. Today was moving day, and she was trying to find places for Jane to put his stuff. He was at his apartment packing, while Teresa had decided to stay home and organize things. Definitely not as easy as she had thought.

She would move a pile of stuff over so Jane could his stuff there, but then she would realize that she should actually put those things away so her apartment did not become a pile area. But then finding a new place involved reorganizing other stuff. But, she had been slightly successful. Jane could have part of her closet and some of her dresser drawers to keep his clothes in. Hey, it was a start.

She decided to take a break a get a snack. This whole pregnancy thing was beginning to get to her; she was eating a lot more than usual, but she was keeping an eye on her weight. No need to gain a 100 pounds just because she had a little person inside her.

As she grabbed a granola bar and settled onto her couch, she noticed that Jane had left his jacket on the end of the couch. Must have forgot it when he left that morning to let his landlord know he was leaving and to start packing. Teresa ignored it, but then realized that this was the perfect opportunity to snoop. She was entitled to it. Jane had pretty much snooped through every area of her life, so she deserved to snoop through his stuff as well.

She grabbed the coat and started rummaging through the pockets. Darn him, he actually kept his pockets clean, only a little lint was in the bottom. But, wait a moment, she found something! She pulled the stiff piece of paper out of his pocket, stilling when she saw what the photograph was of.

It was the picture that the creep had left on the floor for Jane to pick up. Smiling up at her was his first wife and daughter. Teresa felt her throat constrict. Those two looked so happy, just out to enjoy life. And their lives had to be thrown out like trash, murdered just because Jane had insulted Red John.

She carefully put the picture back in Jane's pocket and set the jacket back on the couch. Jane had gone through so much in his life, it was a wonder that he even got up in the morning. Teresa laid her head back, trying not to think too much about Jane and his losing his wife and child so soon, and then ending up married to her...wait a second. Teresa realized something.

Jane had been super excited when she found out she was pregnant, not the least bit nervous. He seemed way more excited about being a father again than she was, but that was the point. Again. Being a father AGAIN. Was Jane viewing her as just a replacement for his first wife, and did he view their child as just a replacement for his lost daughter? If it was a girl Teresa could only imagine that Jane would try and raise their daughter up like his first daughter, trying to recreate his lost life.

Teresa tried to keep from panicking, but the thought of her just being a replacement for Jane's first wife was very unsettling. Was she really nothing to Jane, just a body to keep him warm at night, to keep the reality of his family's death at bay? Would their child not be seen as a unique child, only a new, well, toy for Jane to play with.

Teresa started pacing her living room. She was blowing this way out of proportion. Jane may have his crazy moments(okay, lots of crazy moments) but he would never allow his thinking to go so askew that he would think his second wife and child were just surrogates for his first family. At least, he would not intentionally allow his thoughts to go there. But what if, in the back of his mind, that was what he was really hoping for? Unintentionally recreating his old life with new characters?

Teresa knew that was insane thinking, but he decided to talk with Jane about it. Tonight. She was not about to live as husband and wife with a man who was just treating her like a back up for his old life, the one he really wanted the most

* * *

><p>Later that afternoon, Jane whistled as he went up to Lisbon's, correction, their apartment with the first boxes of his stuff. Hopefully Lisbon had moved enough stuff for him to be able to actually put his clothes away, but he was just pleased that he was actually moving in with her finally.<p>

When he knocked, she let him in, giving him a small greeting. After he had moved the rest of the boxes out of his car, he settled onto the couch to relax, knowing that he would have to move the rest of his stuff tomorrow. Lisbon had been nervous most of the time, not really all there, her mind adrift. However, she now sat down next to him, taking a deep breath, and then turning towards him.

"Jane? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, anything."

"Okay, good. Um, I know that you are excited about us living together, being married, having a baby, all that. But I need to know, before we go any farther in our relationship, are you totally committed to me and the baby?"

Jane stared at her. "Of course I am. Why would you ask that?"

Teresa sighed. "I know that, I really do. What I meant to ask was, well, are you still more committed to your first family than to your new one? Jane, are you just staying married to me, being willing to raise our child with me, just because you want to fill in the hole that your first wife and daughter left when they died? Are we just replacements?"

Jane looked into her eyes, and answered truthfully. "Yes."

**Oh boy, more drama coming soon! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will update as soon as I can. In the meantime, please REVIEW, and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	24. A Tale of an Explanation

**Hello again dear readers! I was quite pleased with the comments I got on my last chapter. I love to stir up drama :) Without further ado, please ENJOY this next chapter!**

Silence hung in the air.

"Yes?" Teresa asked, dumbfounded.

Patrick nodded. "To be completely honest, yes."

"Yes to the fact that you think of me and our baby as a fill in for your first wife and daughter?"

"Yes."

Teresa crossed her arms. "How can you say that?"

"Don't you want me to be truthful."

"Well, of course I do, I just didn't think that you would actually feel like that!"

Patrick shrugged. "Sorry that I made you upset."

"Sorry? This is not something that you can just say 'sorry' to, Jane. This is a big deal. I cannot stay married to someone who is using me like that, especially one that is using my child."

Patrick sighed. "Listen, I know that you did not want to know the truth, but I told you anyway. Would you rather I had lied to you?"

Teresa shook her head. "Of course not, but..."

"Then let me explain the truth," Patrick leaned forward, "When we got married, after the hang over wore off, I was ecstatic about being married again. I thought it would be an interesting adventure, and set out to keep you as my wife as well. When you told me that you were pregnant, my happiness went up even higher. Yes, part of the reason for all my excitement is because I miss my wife and daughter. I miss being married and being a father. I have been missing it for a long time. So when this, well, second chance came along, I did not want to lose it. I did not want to get an annulment because I wanted to be your husband. And now I get the chance to have another child. But, yes, sometimes I do think that this is one big second chance for me, a chance to finally be happy again after so long living in the past."

Patrick looked up at Teresa, pleadingly. "But can you blame me for my feelings? They are only natural comparisons. If you had been previously married or in a serious relationship, you would be comparing me to that man. But I have never looked at you and seen my first wife. Nor will I treat our child the same way as I treated my daughter, I promise you this."

Teresa stared at him, silent.

After a minute, she answered, "Maybe it would be best if you went back to your apartment for the night, so I can think things over."

Patrick slowly nodded and stood up. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, and left.

Teresa just stood, looking at the door, and wondering she had made the right choice.

**Alright, please REVIEW and I will work on getting the next chapter done. Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	25. Tale of Thinking

**Hello my wonderful readers! I was pleased at the reaction to my last chapter, however I know that if I don't mend things I will find people with torches outside my house. So, in order to avoid that type of situation, here is the next chapter: ENJOY!**

The rest of the day went by slowly. Teresa sat in her living room, trying to sort out the mess that had been created in her marriage. She only moved when she wanted to eat something, another reminder of Jane's absence in the form of her pregnancy.

She kept running through her head what Jane had said. Yes, she had to agree that it was a natural reaction for him to compare his first marriage to his second one, but it still hurt her deeply for some reason. Perhaps it was because this was her first marriage, heck, even her first serious relationship in a long time. But this was Jane's second, so Teresa felt that he was not enjoying the 'newness' of it like she was.

Oh, and there was the oh-so familiar jealousy aspect. Yes, she could admit it: she was jealous of Jane's first wife. They got to be with Jane in his pre-broken stage, when he was just out to live life to the fullest, before he was just out for revenge. Teresa had to deal with that Jane for a long time, and she knew how dark the revenge side of Jane was. Teresa would have loved to have been married to Jane before that phase, when you knew that there was no deep sadness hiding behind that obnoxious grin, when he would not have ever considered physically hurting someone, much less killing someone, in revenge.

But, that was a past that Teresa would never have access to. The old Jane was dead, died the same night as his first family, and now Teresa could only hope to help the new Jane put aside revenge and focus on life.

However, how could she help Jane if she kept pushing him away, refusing to open up to him? He had tried so hard to keep them together, and now Teresa was willing to just throw it all out the window, without even sitting down and having a long conversation about it with Jane.

Teresa groaned, leaning against the couch. Man, she needed a drink. Which totally stunk that she could not have one in her current position, but she needed something that could help her clear her head for a while. Because if she was going to try and call Jane, she needed a clear mind(do not ask her how drinking would help, but their marriage had been started by alcohol, maybe it could mend it as well).

Finally, she decided to grab her purse and go to a restaurant not far from her place, where she could eat some good food and be able to get out of her home, which was reminding her too much of Jane.

When she arrived, the hostess came up and asked her what her name was. Teresa was a bit confused, but answered, "Teresa Lisbon, uh, Jane."

"Good, please follow me."

"To where?"

"Why, to your table. Your husband is already here and asked for me to show you over to him when you arrived."

Teresa was more perturbed than surprised. Of course Jane would already be waiting there for her. If he had not been there, she would have been actually surprised.

The hostess showed her to a corner booth, in a slightly darker section of the restaurant. The hostess handed Teresa a menu and got her drink order as Teresa settled in the booth. After the hostess was gone, Teresa turned her attention to Jane. Since it was dark, she had a hard time seeing him, but she could still make out the basic outline.

"So, I take it you are here to have a talk. I have been thinking for a while, and seeing you here, I think I finally came to a semi-decision." Teresa began.

A hand went up in front of her. "Sorry, but I am not interested in hearing about your marital troubles," The shape leaned forward, "And I am most definitely not your husband, Patrick Jane."

**Yes, I know, another evil cliffhanger, but how else am I supposed to make certain that you all keep reading my story? LOL. I hope that you will tell me what you thought about this chapter in a REVIEW, and I will get to work on the next part of the story. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	26. A Tale of a Man

**Hi everyone! I hope that you are all eager to see the continuation of last week's cliffhanger, so here it is! Enjoy!**

Teresa stared at the man across from her. She had never seen him before. He had greying hair, brown eyes, and had a good build. He must have been around forty, maybe fifty. He was wearing a brown coat and jeans.

The man put his elbows on the table, leaning forward. "I am sorry for not properly introducing myself. My name is Mark Lampton."

She nodded, but did not respond.

The man chuckled. "Ah, well, I guess I did kind of deceive you. See, to be completely honest, I have been following you for two weeks, in order to try and find a good time to meet you."

"You could call," Teresa interrupted.

"Yes, I could have, normally, but not in this situation. I was parked in front of your apartment tonight, then I saw you come out and drive, I followed you to this restaurant, a place you have gone to previously, using a specific route. I took a shortcut and got here first."

"Why impersonate my husband?"

"When he left, I noticed how sad he looked, and then you came out you looked upset as well, leading me to conclude that you had just had a fight. From what I have learned about Patrick Jane, surprising you at a restaurant seems like something that he would do, and you did not seem at all surprised."

"Yes, well, my husband can be a bit, all-knowing about things. But why follow me, why go through all this?"

"Because, Agent, I need your help with something that is extremely difficult for me, something that I cannot bring before the regular police, something that I need your husband for."

Teresa leaned back. "Okay, now I understand. But, again, why were you following me instead of him?"

"Since you are married to him now, to follow him would mean to follow you as well. Also, I was hoping that perhaps if I talked with you first, you would be able to provide your police training skills to his, um, all-knowing skills, as you put it."

"I think that she would probably classify it more as pain-in-the-but skills than anything."

Teresa and Lampton looked up to find Patrick Jane smiling at them. He sat down in the booth beside Teresa and clasped his hands together. "Sorry for the interruption. If you two are having an affair, please, feel free to ignore me. If not, then I think I need brought up to speed."

Mr. Lampton and Teresa shared a knowing look, and then Mr. Lampton explained the situation so far. "So, Mr. Jane, I hope that you will understand my wanting to circumvent the regular police and have you two help me."

"Of course, Mark(can I call you Mark?), we would be happy to help," Jane answered, interrupting Teresa's attempts at discouraging such actions.

Teresa glared at Jane, but he continued to ignore her. "Now, let's get to your actual case. What is it that you did?"

Teresa looked at Mr. Lampton, waiting for an explanation along with Jane.

Mr. Lampton leaned in closer. "Well, you see, the thing is, I will probably soon be accused of kidnaping and probably murdering my ex-wife's daughter."

**Oh boy, a new case. Alright, I know, you guys are probably sick and tired of being made sick and tired by all my cliffhangers! I completely get that. But, I am trying to keep my plot together so I am trying to take it slow and steady, keeping the plot developing, and sometimes I have to end on a cliffhanger so I have a point to jump off of(jump off cliff?) so I can keep it going good. Anyway, just wanted to explain my seeming obsession with cliffhangers. Please REVIEW and let me know how I am doing, and I will set to work on the next chapter. Until then, Li Li!**


	27. The Tale of a Man's Tale

**Hi again my wonderful readers! Thank you for the feedback about the cliffhanger issue that I seem to have. I will hopefully focus on writing longer chapters so you can actually read the story before being flung off said cliff, however that may mean longer time in between updates. Just to warn you. Now, for the next 'thrilling'(ish) installment, ENJOY!**

Lisbon and Jane both stared at him. "Kidnaping and possibly murder?" They asked together.

Mr. Lampton nodded. "Pretty much. That is why I need your help."

Jane smiled slightly. "Well, you came to the right crime fighting couple."

Lisbon stared at Jane like he was insane. "Jane, can I talk to you alone real quick?"

The pair stood up and went over to an area that was empty, and out of Mr. Lampton's line of sight. When they arrived, Lisbon smacked Jane on the arm. He winced.

"What was that for?"

"Crime fighting couple? Jane, this man could possibly have murdered someone, and yet you are just treating it like its no problem?"

He rolled his eyes slightly. "Listen, Teresa, we are in one of three possible situations: one, the man is guilty but wants to comb his ego by trying to trick us. If so, then by 'helping' him, we can prove that he is guilty and put away a possible murderer. Two, he is imagining that he killed or kidnaped someone just to get attention or live out some fantasy, which in that case we can soon put that fantasy to rest and possibly get him some mental help. Or, three, he is telling the truth and a innocent girl is being held captive somewhere or dead. If we go with that conclusion, which is what I am leaning towards, we need to prove this man's innocence and hopefully rescue a young girl."

Lisbon groaned, a slight headache beginning to form. "Fine, we'll go along with 'helping' him, but we need to figure out if this is real or not, and if he is guilty or not, as soon as possibly or LaRoche will have our heads nailed to his desk for going behind the police's back."

The two went back to the booth, where Mr. Lampton was looking over his menu as a waitress stood next to him. Mr. Lampton looked up, but refrained from asking anything, as he seemed to understand what their decision was. "I'll have the three bean salad, with some fries on the side."

The waitress wrote that down, then turned to Jane and Lisbon as they sat down again. "And for you?"

Jane smiled and said, "I'll take your chicken and mashed potato special, and some tea if possible."

"And for you, ma'am?"

Lisbon glanced over the menu, before her eyes caught something that sounded absolutely delicious. "Your stuffed bell peppers with a side of bacon and sweet potato fries."

The three others stared at her, and she shrugged. "Pregnancy, I guess."

The waitress took their menus and walked off, leaving the three to converse.

"So," Mr. Lampton started, "Are you going to help me?"

"Well, Mr. Lamtpon, we have decided to listen to your story and then decide appropriate action. If it sounds plausible, then we will assist you."

"She means yes, we will help you?" Jane added, earning a glare from Lisbon. "So, tell us what happened."

Mr. Lampton took a sip of his water and then began. "Okay, it all started fifteen years ago. I married a woman named Helen, but our marriage only lasted for two years because she constantly believed that I was cheating on her, and in fact broke into a woman's house and left a mean note because she thought we were sleeping together."

"Were you?" Jane asked.

"No, she was actually my cousin that I had been visiting occasionally. Anyway, we split up, I have remained single ever since, and she ended up remarrying two years later, and ended up divorcing him because of cheating accusations. However, she was married once before I met her, and divorced him for, you can probably guess, cheating accusations. She had a daughter, Sarah, by that man, and I grew close to her when we were a family, treating her like my own daughter. However, Helen refused to ever let me visit Sarah or even send Christmas cards," He paused, sighing, "It was hard for both Sarah and I as we had become close, but we decided to just do as Helen said and avoid contact. That is, until about a year ago, when Sarah sent me a letter. She wanted to see me, as she was finally an adult and could meet me without her mother's interference. We went out to lunch a few times and renewed our father/daughter relationship. We began to go on fishing trips and fairs, just hanging out, keeping all of it secret from her mother. We finally decided to go on a fishing/camping trip, and planned it three months ago. We went up into the mountains a week ago, planning on staying for a few days," Mr. Lampton paused again.

"What happened, Mr. Lampton?" Lisbon asked quietly.

Mr. Lampton swallowed, then continued. "Everything was going great. We ate fresh fish every night and went hiking all over the area. We were having so much fun until, until the night before last. We had spent the day hiking and were exhausted, so we retired to our separate tents to sleep. At around midnight I heard rustling coming from her tent. I figured she was going to find a bush, so I just fell back to sleep. The next morning, I went to her tent to find it completely empty, her sleeping bag all in a mess. I searched the area, calling for her, but found no sign of what could have happened to her. Finally, I started to head down the mountain, but then I noticed tire tracks leading from near where we were parked, very fresh. We had never seen anyone in the area, so I found it odd and I just knew that she was gone."

"Why did you not go to the park rangers?" Lisbon queried.

"Because I panicked. I knew I would be the number one suspect, and that my ex-wife would probably adamantly accuse me of kidnaping her daughter or even killing her. I decided that I needed someone who could find Sarah quickly and efficiently, and I knew how amazing at your jobs you both are, so I began to ask some of my contacts about you(I have a couple friends who work as private investigators) and they told me of your known locations. The rest I did on my own. So," Mr. Lampton leaned back, taking a deep breath, "What do you think?"

Lisbon thought about it for a moment, while Jane spoke up. "Mr. Lampton, we willing to help you, but we need to see what you brought to show us, and why you seem to sure that Sarah may be hurt or killed."

was startled. "How did you know?"

"You have touched your coat pocket several times, as if to reassure yourself that whatever lump you have in there is still there. Now, would you please show it to us?"

Mr. Lamtpon slowly nodded, and reached in his pocket, pulling out a woman's t-shirt, with a large blood stain right in the center.

"I found this in her tent. I don't know how badly hurt she is, but, Mr. Jane, Mrs. Jane, you need to find her soon, or I don't know how I could live with myself if she died."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lampton," Lisbon reassured, "We will find her."

"But first, I think we should let the woman eat her stuffed peppers and bacon, or we may have a homicidally hormonal pregnant woman on hands," Jane added, just to be on the safe side.

**Yay, a longer chapter! Happy with me? (Grins) Now, I would like to know what you all think of this chapter: is the mystery corny or okay? Will the girl be found alive? Will Lisbon kill Jane over the stuffed pepper joke? Please REVIEW and I will work on writing the next chapter. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	28. A Tale of Deciding Again

**Hello to all my readers! Thank you for the encouragement concerning the new 'mystery' in the story, I was a little worried about it seeming stupid. Now, please be sure to review at the end, and ENJOY!**

After Mr. Lampton had showed Patrick and Lisbon the shirt, he had remained silent. Lisbon had carefully wrapped the shirt in a plastic bag from her purse(a cop could never be too prepared), and they had all gone quiet, barely registering the food they ate.

Once the food was eaten and bill paid, Patrick reassured Mr. Lampton that they would find his step daughter and whoever took her away.

Mr. Lampton was encouraged by this, and left the restaurant in semi-high spirits, considering the circumstances.

Patrick and Teresa did not talk to one another, and they both left in their own cars. However, they both knew that they were to meet back at Teresa's apartment to discuss the case and their 'marital problems.'

Once they both went inside, they settled on the couch. It seemed to be a silent debate over who got to start, but finally Patrick took the initiative, but not in the way Teresa would have liked.

"So, have you come to a decision about us?"

Teresa sighed. Of course Jane would start the conversation by pinning her down. "Kind of. But I do have a few questions that I have been wanting to ask you."

Patrick leaned back against the couch. "Alright, fire away."

Teresa took a moment to organize her thoughts before she began. "When did this whole 'comparison between wives' thing start?"

"When we were in the middle of the annulment debate."

"Why then? Why not the second we were married, or at least sober."

"When the annulment debate started I realized that I needed to decide if I really wanted to stay married to you. So, I began to think about my first marriage, about the qualities that I would want in a wife if I was to get married again, and so that is when I began to truly see the similarities and differences between these two marriages."

"What similarities and differences did you find?"

"Well, in my first marriage I was more self-centered and just wanting to have fun, ignoring the seriousness of life. It was like playing grown ups, but not fully understanding how wonderful my family and life was. Now, I have seen the darkest parts of humanity and know that it is a miracle that I wake up each morning with a gun shot through the heart. I can now see that having someone else to spend my life with is something that I need to treasure and protect. I know that helping others is a better goal than just making myself happy.

"As for similarities, you both have hearts bigger than the sky, always willing to help those who are downtrodden or abused by the system. You want to right the wrongs of this world. You can both look past my flaws, and yes, I know I have many, and find the good man within. Those are the two main similarities that I knew were important to me if I was to get married again."

Teresa sat silent for a while, thinking through her next question.

"And what about our child? How do you compare your two children?"

"I try not to. Mostly I just think back to what it was like to change diapers, deal with tantrums and read bedtime stories. I know that our child will be completely different from my daughter, a whole new spectrum of likes, dislikes and traits. It makes me nervous, not knowing what to expect this time around, but I know that it will be a fun adventure."

Teresa sat back and thought this all through. She did not expect that Jane would tell her anything but the truth. And she did not expect that he would tell her that he thought his first wife was a better wife, that he was just using her as a replacement, etc. She knew Jane well enough to know that his heart would never go in that direction. But why was she still worried about their marriage and child?

Teresa groaned slightly.

Of course. Because SHE was not entirely onboard with this marriage, and was probably, deep down, expecting this marriage to end badly. She was just a treasure trove of commitment issues, if any therapist wanted to tackle her.

But, maybe she should do something that she knew worked(most of the time): trust Patrick Jane. Rarely, if ever, had he let her down, so why should this be any different? Why did she continue fighting when she could just settle in and enjoy the new relationship that life had brought her. She needed Jane(really!), especially now that she was going to mother his child.

So, putting her mind to rest with decision, she told Jane what she wanted to do the only way she could.

She kissed him.

**Alright then, we have this minor(ish) issue out of the way. I hope that I wrapped things up well, although I still have slight issues with this chapter, but it was the best I could do. Anyway, I wanted to note my opinions for next week's new Mentalist episode: HOLY COW I am so excited! It will be so cool, I just know it. Those of you who are not watching the show live on t.v., just rest assured that there will be a cool episode where we finally get to see a new side of Patrick Jane. Yay! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	29. The Tale of A Crime Scene

**Hi to all my wonderful readers! If you got a chance to see last night's episode, called Fugue In Red, I hope that you will agree that it was super fantastic! And, if you have to wait to see the season, know that it is an episode well worth watching and will have some good Jane/Lisbon moments. At least from my perspective. Continuing, now for the latest chapter in my story, ENJOY!**

**Oh, and I want to just say ahead of time that I am not completely familiar with Park Service, etc. procedure, so if the title of Ranger is incorrect, or if anything else is wrong, I apologize.**

Needless to say, Lisbon and Jane made up that night, and the next day they quickly moved the rest of Jane's stuff over to her apartment, the two of them discussing the case as they went. They tried to make sense of the case, but Lisbon, who made a couple calls that morning, was still waiting to hear from people who worked at the Park Service and people who were doing a background checks on Mr. Lampton, Helen and Sarah. She had also sent the t-shirt in for testing, but that would be a little while in getting those results back.

Finally, she got a call back from the Park Service while they were driving to the park itself. The guy offered to meet them there, so when they arrived at the area Mr. Lampton had given them directions to, they found a Park Ranger waiting for them.

He walked forward to greet them. "Hello. I'm Timothy Simpson, I work mostly in this area. You must been Agent Lisbon and Mr. Jane. You said you had a suspicion that a girl had been kidnaped in this area?"

Lisbon shook his hand. "Yes, her stepfather reported it to us."

"But we have not gotten any reports from any person in this area of a missing person."

Jane stepped forward. "Actually, her stepfather was with her at the time, in a tent right next to her's, so I would say he was pretty accurate in his assumption that she was missing."

Ranger Simpson looked shocked. "Then I will need to meet him and get a full case of the situation so we can begin canvassing the area for her in case she is still in the park."

"I will put you in touch with him, but we will need to be involved with this investigation as we highly suspect that she is no longer in the park, thus it will be our job to find her. Now, could you lead us to campsite 163, please?"

"Of course, it is right over here." Lisbon followed Ranger Simpson, while Jane headed off in the opposite direction to do, well, whatever Jane did.

The tents were still up and everything like it was when Mr. Lampton got up. Thankfully, the local wildlife had not decided to see about treats in the tents, and so the site was fairly undisturbed.

Ranger Simpson answered Lisbon's questions about how many people were have been in the area, how hard it was to get to the site from any direction beside the main path, and about if there were any caves or shelters close by.

She learned nothing too helpful. It still looked like the girl was kidnaped and take away in a vehicle. Ranger Simpson was

While Lisbon focused on the boring, useful, regular police work part of the case, Jane was off on his own adventure. He went on all fours looking under bushes, stood up straight to look in trees and then proceeded to try out his bird call(actually sounded like a moose during mating season), but was unable to find what he wanted.

Not swayed away from his train of thought, he headed through the bushes and around the trees to the campsite that Lisbon was currently investigating, hoping perhaps that the clue he was looking for would be there.

Lisbon was carefully examining Sarah's tent, looking for any traces of the blood that was on that shirt. So far, she had found none, and that was bugging her. She had so far not found any blood, in the tent, on the tent, on the ground, no where. She would have thought that there would have been a small trace, but everything looked clean and fine.

Ranger Simpson was using his radio to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious, and if they could be of help to meet them at the campsite. Lisbon appreciated his help, and only hoped that it would not be a waste of time.

Suddenly, they heard a yell and the two of them ran over to a large tree. Jane was standing right behind it, holding something in his hand, a look of elation on his face.

"Jane, what's wrong?" Lisbon asked.

"Nothing, Lisbon, nothing at all. But I just confirmed my theory. Now, just a few more pieces and we can wrap this case up."

"What did you find, Mr. Jane?" Ranger Simpson asked.

Jane pocketed the small item that he had been holding, his grin never leaving his face. "Sorry, I can't give away the ending. Besides, it would take too long to explain its significance. For now, Lisbon, I think we need to talk to Helen. We need to break the news to her about her daughter, and get her side of the story." He began to head towards the main trail.

"But, Jane, we still have to finish looking at this scene. Don't you want to look through everything?"

"No, not really. It is just a campsite, Lisbon, not that important. Now, to the car!" And with that, he walked away.

Lisbon was tempted to yell at him to stop, but she trusted that he must have found something good. Besides, this was not an official case, so they did not have to do things by the book. She thanked Ranger Simpson for his help, and told him that he could call the other rangers and tell them to just go back to work, and she would call him if they needed anything else.

When she got to the car, Jane was staring out the window with a contemplative smile on his face, deep in thought. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but she was not in the mood for some riddle-like answer. Instead, she just started the car and they pulled away and towards the address that Mr. Lampton had given them for Helen's house.

**Merry Christmas, everyone! I know, not the most exciting chapter, but I have to build up the mystery. So, please REVIEW, and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	30. A Tale of The ExWife

**Hello my wonderful readers! Did the last chapter just blow your mind? (Sarcasm abounds here) Not really? Well, hopefully the next few chapters may up the action a bit. Perhaps Jane will get a paper cut. Oh the horror! Maybe Lisbon will bump her knee and get a bruise! In order to see what deep, intense action sequences will occur next, please ENJOY!**

The ride to Helen's house was silent, with Jane still staring out the window and Lisbon trying to make sense of the case.

Eventually, they arrived on a street in a good neighborhood(tall trees, clean yards and nice cars) and parked in front of one of the bigger, more kept up houses. Lisbon and Jane both, unknown to the other, thought the same thing: this woman was trying to hide something. The car was a little too new, the yard too perfect, and everything gave the sense that the lives of the occupants were perfect(and that they were trying to hide something behind the walls).

They walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. The door opened and a woman smiled out at them.

The woman was in her early forties, straight brown hair and blue eyes, managed her weight and was of medium heigtht. "May I help you?" She asked.

Lisbon put on a smile. "Yes, we are looking for a Helen Mark?"

"That's me."

"I'm Agent Lisbon of the C.B.I, this is Patrick Jane a consultant. We are here to talk about your daughter, Sarah. May we come in?"

The woman frowned. "Sarah? Well, yes, please do come in," She opened the door wider, but watched her guests carefully.

The inside of the house was just as neat and tidy as the outside, and Jane was not sure if the sofa was to be sat on or to be showcased in a museum.

"Would you like some tea or coffee?" Helen asked.

Lisbon jumped in before Jane could get some tea. "No thank you."

"Okay, then what is this about Sarah? Has something happened to her?"

"Ma'am," Lisbon began carefully, "We have been led to believe that your daughter has disappeared."

"Disappeared? You mean, like kidnaped?"

"We are still looking into it, but that is still a possibility."

Helen gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "That can't be. Not my Sarah, not my daughter!" Jane sat beside her with a tissue as she began to cry.

After a minute of crying, Helen calmed down enough to say, "What do you need to know?"

Lisbon glanced at Jane, who was watching Helen carefully. "Well, ma'am, we were hoping that you could tell us when you last saw your daughter and where she was three nights ago."

Helen took a deep breath. "I saw her a week ago, right before she went camping with her friends."

"Camping?" Lisbon asked.

"Yes, she was going on a camping trip with a couple of her girlfriends. She didn't tell me where, saying that she did not even know yet."

"Does she normally go on these camping trips?"

"Occasionally. She and her friends like to go hiking and such. I know her friends pretty well, they are good kids and stay out of trouble, so I never really worried about her."

"Has she ever mentioned wanting a father figure?" Jane chimed in. Lisbon gave him a look, but Helen just pasued.

"Father figure? Perhaps when she was little, but no, not for years now. What does that have to do with anything?"

Jane shrugged. "Nothing, just wondering."

Helen looked a little confused, so Lisbon tried to steer her back. "Do you know if your daughter has had any dealings with bad people or could have possibly been involved in illegal dealings?"

"Sarah? No, absolutely not! She is a wonderful girl, always wanting to help people, and if she was in need of money she would have come to me."

"We can see that," Jane mumbled, glancing around the room. Lisbon gave him another look, but Helen was ignoring him.

"Please tell me, what happened? How do you know that my daughter disappeared? Did one of the girls she was with report it?"

Lisbon paused before responding, carefully choosing her wording, but Jane jumped ahead of her. "Your ex husband told us. Apparently he just happened to be in the area and reported it directly to us."

It took all of Lisbon's self control not to throttle Jane, while Helen just looked confused.

"My ex husband? Which one?"

"Lampton," Jane answered.

Helen jumped up, wringing her hands. "That, that, oh, what to call him! I knew he was trouble from the moment we got married. Why did I have to fall for his cheap tricks? If he hurt my daughter in any way, I'll, I'll," She burst into tears again, "Oh Sarah, what happened to you?" She slowly sat down again, while Jane handed her another tissue.

Lisbon knew that it was best just to let Helen cry for a minute before continuing her questioning, so she spent that minute giving Jane the deadliest glare she could manage. He just smirked at her, completely unaffected.

When Helen finally calmed down (again), Lisbon was able to get a few more details about Sarah and Mr. Lampton, but nothing that helped them.

Lisbon and Jane were shown out by Helen, who still clutched a tissue in her hand. Before she closed the door, she whispered, "Please, please bring Sarah back to me. If she was hurt or, killed, I don't know if I could live with it."

Jane nodded. "Don't worry. I am sure that she is just fine."

And with that, he smirked and headed off towards the car.

**Okay, time to sign off on this chapter. Please REVIEW! I love to hear from you people, I laugh at a lot of the comments you leave in your reviews :) Until next chapter, Li Li.**

**P.S. Happy 30****th**** Chapter! Wow, how the chapters keep flying by. A big Thank You to all my reviewers, and all the people who placed my story on their Story Alert/Favorite Stories lists. That means a lot to me :)**


	31. The Tale of a Team

**Hello again my fantastic readers! No need for a long note this time, yay! ENJOY!**

After talking with Helen, Lisbon got a call from the friend who she had test the shirt. Apparently the test results had come in sooner than expected, so Lisbon started driving back to the station. While she drove, she ran through her mind what their next step would be if the red on the shirt was actual human blood. The two of them needed more help, but she worried about if they could take this on as an official case.

Jane seemed to be oblivious to her worries. In fact, he was humming to himself. Humming! Lisbon felt her hormones kick into gear at the thought that Jane was either not taking this case seriously, or he knew who did it and was not inclined to tell her. When they came to a stoplight, her resolve broke.

"Okay, what do you know?" She asked him.

Jane glanced at her, merely raising an eyebrow. "Know about what?"

"The case. The kidnaping. Who took the girl? You have a firm idea, I can see it, so why don't you share."

"Ah, but that would ruin the surprise," Just before she decided to throttle him, he added, "Besides, I have no strong evidence to back up my idea."

"But don't you have some sort of clue?"

"What? Oh, you mean the thing that I have been carrying around. Yes, it did confirm my idea, but it is nothing of any real importance. No, before I can do my big reveal, I need some more evidence. Aren't you always harping at me about having evidence before deciding on a case? I am just following your advice."

Luckily, the light changed and Lisbon had to focus on driving again, or Jane would have his head punched in. The rest of the ride was in silence, as Jane gazed out the window(thankfully stopping the humming), and Lisbon tried to reign in her emotions and think logically again. A good idea, but a little hard when you suddenly have a craving for tofu burgers, but Lisbon was trying her hardest.

They pulled up to the station and went in, heading to the lab. There they met up with Lisbon's friend and got the test results.

The results were positive for human blood.

So, what was the next step?

"We should call the team together." Jane suggested as Lisbon read the entire report. She looked up at him.

"Why?"

"We can't do this as an official case, so I say we get the old gang together and do a little independent investigation, now that we have an full fledged case. Unless you want to go to LaRoche and get official permission?"

Lisbon shuddered a bit at what LaRoche would do if they went to him with the case, but she was even more scared of what would happen if it was discovered what they were doing.

Lisbon was still debating when Jane led them into the main office, where everyone was working.

"Hey, where have you two been?" Cho asked.

Jane grinned, nudging Lisbon a bit. "Glad you asked. We actually have something important we need your help with."

Van Pelt came over. "What, did something happen?"

Rigsby was right behind her. "What's up?"

Jane looked at Lisbon expectantly, while she just rolled her eyes. "Come, everyone in my office."

When they all were in, Jane and Lisbon took turns explaining the case to them. At first, they were not convinced.

"Why not just go to the authorities? This sounds weird to me," Cho said.

"He is in a rather delicate situation, and he needs our help," Jane responded.

"What about his ex-wife? She sounds a little mentally unstable, could she be doing this to frame him?" Rigsby asked.

"We need to look into her as well," Lisbon explained, "I want to know more about her marital history and if she may have any cases of harassment charges or something that might mean she would want to hurt Mr. Lampton."

"Any leads about the girl? She could be seriously hurt or dead by now," Van Pelt added.

"I think you and I should focus on that part of the case, Grace," Jane said, "I think I have a few ideas of who may have done this and where the girl is."

"Okay, is everyone in?" Lisbon asked. They all nodded. "Good, then let's get to work."

"Great!" Jane said, "I'll get the tea."

**So, what did you all think? Whether you liked it or hated it, please let me know in a REVIEW, thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	32. The Tale of Investigating

**Hello to all my wonderful readers! Here is the next chapter, ENJOY!**

Van Pelt drove Jane back to the campsite so they could do their own private investigation. Van Pelt set to going through Sarah's tent, while Jane looked in Lampton's tent. Van Pelt was not sure what she was looking for, but Jane had just told her to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Jane was on his own mission, but he kept his observations to himself.

After about half an hour of rummaging around, the two met up by the fire pit.

"So, Grace, find anything interesting?" Jane asked.

"No, nothing that could help us. How about you?"

"Nope, still nothing. But let me ask you this: what did you NOT find in Sarah's tent?"

Van Pelt was confused. "Not find?"

"Yeah, what did you not find in her tent that you would normally find in a young woman's camping gear?"

Van Pelt thought for a minute. She had found a bag with warm clothes, a toothbrush, hairbrush, flashlight, basic things like that. Jane grinned slightly as she thought, seeming to nudge her forward. Finally, Van Pelt realized something.

"I didn't find a cell phone."

"Bingo!" Jane explained. "A young woman going anywhere always takes her cell phone."

"And she does strike me as smart, so of course she would take it in case she got lost or needed to call for help," Van Pelt added.

"Now, if she was taken from her tent suddenly, in the middle of the night, do you think she would be able to grab her cell phone?"

"Most likely not."

"Exactly. So, why is it not in her tent?"

"Maybe Mr. Lampton took it with him."

"Maybe. But why has he not show it to us? He said he only took the shirt, why leave out taking the cellphone too? If he even took it with him."

"What does this mean?" Van Pelt asked, suddenly getting a little hopeful that they might have a clue.

Jane shrugged, getting secretive again. "Oh, it probably means something. Or nothing. I just need some time to put it all together. But, for now, I think we are done here. Let's head back to the station."

Van Pelt was not too pleased with Jane's secretiveness, but she knew better than to bother trying to get answers out of him.

They got in the car and headed back to the station.

* * *

><p>While Van Pelt and Jane were busy hanging out in tents, Lisbon, Cho and Rigsby had started looking into everyone that could possibly be involved in Sarah's kidnapping. They looked up all the information they could find about Helen's ex-husbands, but they were all in different parts of the country and had tight alibis. They each cited different reasons for their divorces from Helen, and none of them remarked on her obsessive behavior.<p>

Rigsby began to look into Sarah's friends and possible motives there, but nothing was coming from it. Cho helped Lisbon look into the different people that were in the park at the time of the kidnapping, but so far everyone had good alibis for the time.

Lisbon was beginning to lose confidence and was about to call Jane and see if he had any luck, when someone knocked on the door of her office.

"Come in," she called out.

The door opened and in came Mr. Lampton, closing the door behind him. He clutched his hat and was looking distressed. "Agent Lisbon," He said.

Lisbon stood up. "Mr. Lampton, hello. May I ask why you are here?"

"I was hoping that you had some news about Sarah."

Lisbon shook her head. "Nothing so far. We are still looking into various leads."

Mr. Lampton sighed. "Please, Agent, can you tell me if there is any hope of her safe rescue?"

"Mr. Lampton, it is hard to determine the possibility of her safety. Since we have not heard anything about a ransom or any word from the kidnappers, things do look dim. However, I have seen people get rescued in much worse circumstances. We just do not have enough information to go on in order to come to a good conclusion," Lisbon thought about it for a moment, then added, "But Jane did find a clue at the campsite."

Mr. Lamtpon looked up at her. "Clue? What kind of clue?"

"I am not at liberty to say yet, but Jane believes it could be the key to finding Sarah's kidnappers. So, don't give up hope, Mr. Lampton, we will find Sarah, some how, some way."

Mr. Lampton took a deep breath. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. Well, I had better get going, I don't want to blow your cover."

Lisbon escorted Mr. Lampton out of her office, but they both froze when they saw who was talking to Cho, and who spotted them almost immediately.

"Lampton! You, you, oh! I'm going to kill you if you laid a finger on my daughter!"

**Your thoughts? Was the chapter good? Bad? Horrible? Whatever? Please let me know in a REVIEW! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	33. The Tale of Covers Blown

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update. Life got in the way. But I am back with a new chapter, so ENJOY!**

**P.S. Who else loved episode 14? No, not a good Lisbon/Jane romance episode, but a new couple was formed and I totally love them :)**

Helen launched herself at Lampton, but Cho was able to hold her back. "How could you? How could you take here away?" Helen screamed, drawing the attention of practically everyone in the station.

Lisbon tried to get between the two to mediate, but Lampton was shouting back, "I didn't take her! I was the one who tried to get help to find her. And how could you accuse me of kidnaping when I cared for her more than you ever did!"

This brought out more shouting from Helen and Cho had to really hold on to keep from creating a murder scene in the station.

Helen was still shouting. "Why should I believe you? For all I know my daughter is lying dead in a shallow grave somewhere, while you mislead these fine detectives away from finding out your true intentions."

Lampton groaned. "Helen, these people are helping us, and I am not misleading them. If anything, your tantrums are probably doing more harm than good, distracting them when they should be finding our daughter."

"OUR daughter? Why you little..."

"That's enough."

Everyone turned to see LaRoche standing in the doorway, with a look of indifference, which meant trouble. He glanced at Lisbon and Cho. "Agent Cho, if you would please release the woman you are currently blocking, so she may quitely sit down somewhere, and if Mr. Lampton wouldn't mind sitting down as well, I think I would like to ask Agent Lisbon a couple questions while the rest of you get back to work." He turned around and went to his office, and Lisbon quickly followed, praying that this would not be the end of her career.

When she entered the office and closed the door behind her, LaRoche stood behind his desk giving her a look. Lisbon was not sure if she turn and run or cower in a corner. Obviously, LaRoche was not pleased.

"Please, Agent Lisbon, take a seat." She did so and he sat down slowly, folding his hands on his desk. After a brief moment of silence, he began, "Tell me, Agent, why was I not aware that you and your team were working on a case?"

Lisbon took a deep breath. "Because, sir, it was not an official case."

"Ah, I see. So it was more of a private investigation?"

"Well, yes, I suppose you could call it that."

"And how did you end up on this 'investigation'?"

Lisbon went into a brief narration of the case, trying not to focus on the ridiculousness of accepting a case like this. When she was done, LaRoche thought for a moment, before saying, "You do realize, Agent Lisbon, how precarious your situation is right now? You neglected to inform anyone of your marriage to Patrick Jane, but I let that one go as I felt that it would not impair your judgement and a minor punishment was enough. However, this situation is much more serious. Investigating a kidnaping and possible homicide without approval or authorization by anyone above you is a serious offense. I should take you off all cases until a proper investigation of your conduct, no pay, of course. I fire Patrick Jane as an consultant, but we all know how, questionable, some of his ideas are. Your job is to differentiate between odd but intelligent ideas and wrong and crazy ones. Do you have anything to say that would change my mind about putting you on no-pay leave?"

Lisbon thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, sir, I don't. My conduct was unwise and I should have brought the case before the proper authorities instead of stepping with my team. I take full responsibility for my actions and..."

Suddenly the door opened and Patrick Jane stuck his head in. "Oh, good, there you are, Lisbon. Hello, LaRoche, wonderful day out, isn't?"

"Ah, Mr. Jane, I was hoping to speak with you about this case..."

Jane waved him off. "Yes, yes, of course, we can chit chat about it over tea sometime. But right now, I need Lisbon."

LaRoche frowned. "Why?"

"Because I think I have made a break in the case."

"This unauthorized case that Lisbon is currently in trouble for?" LaRoche asked.

Jane sighed, stepped into the office and closed the door. "Look, this is my fault. No, no, Lisbon, let me finish. It was my fault for getting us into this. I manipulated Lisbon into taking the case, ignoring any reasonable doubts she had about it, and then went on with my own ideas. I understand that maybe she broke a couple rules over this. Fine, put her on a short no-pay leave for a week, but anything beyond that put on me. I take all responsibility, heck, I'll let you know that half the time I worked behind Lisbon's back in order to find clues and interrogate suspects. You can fire me, fine me, arrest me, whatever. But let Lisbon continue working here as an agent."

LaRoche looked at the two of them before coming to a decision. "Very well. Lisbon will be appropriatenly disciplined over this, but she will retain her position. You will probably continue working her, Mr. Jane, as a consultant, but only if this case goes well. If the girl is not found, or if there is no girl at all, both of you will have to answer for the case and measures will be taken against both of you. Am I clear?"

They both nodded.

"Good. Now, you may both go and continue your investigation. Just remember my warning."

The two of them practically ran out the door. Lisbon was astonished at LaRoche's willingness to let them continue, while Jane was busy looking around.

"Cho told me that Helen and Lampton were both here."

"Yeah, they started fighting, blew our whole cover."

"Ah, interesting."

"Why?"

"Where are they now?"

Lisbon looked around. "They were, oh, I guess they left already. Jane, where are you going?"

"Grab the team," He called back as he headed for the elevator, "I know where Sarah is."

**Okay everyone, what are you thoughts? Good? Bad? Anything? Please let me know in a REVIEW, thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li**


	34. The Tale of the Search

**Hello again readers! Here is the latest chapter in my exciting, romantic, funny...okay, how about just my story? Lol Please just ENJOY!**

The team sat in the car as Lisbon floored it down the highway. "Jane, where are we going?" She asked as they continued.

Jane shrugged. "Just keep going. I'll let you know when we get close."

Lisbon was not keen on this answer, but decided to just focus on getting to wherever they were headed as fast as possible. The rest of the team was in the back seats, armed for any possible confrontations, while other police officers followed them down the road. With LaRoche's okay, everyone had gotten on board to find Sarah, although they were all silently praying that there actually was a girl to be found.

Jane led them off the highway onto the backroads, and Lisbon instantly recognized the road to the Park. She wondered what Jane was thinking, but he was too busy pointing out where to go to answer questions. They turned off the main road a little bit before the campsite, and followed the twisting road for about ten minutes. Finally, they arrived at a small clearing that had a cabin in the center of it, but no vehicles around.

Lisbon led the team as they broke the door down and found the inside of the cabin dark, but a comfortable temperature, as a small fire was merely coals now.

They found the lightswitch and searched the cabin. Cho finally found Sarah chained to a bed upstairs. They brought her down and paramedics checked her, while everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Lisbon turned to Jane.

"Okay, what happened?"

"What do you mean 'what'?"

"Who kidnaped Sarah?"

"Ah, that 'what.' Mr. Lampton and Helen did."

"What?" Lisbon was confused, as the rest of the them listened intently, "But they hate each other?"

Jane shrugged. "Their okay actors, but I saw right through it. Those two have been working together on crimes for a lot longer than they were supposedly 'married.'"

"He's right," Sarah spoke up, sitting up on the stretcher that she had been placed on as she was checked, "Those two wackos kidnaped me."

"Are they really your parents?" Lisbon asked, after getting an okay from one of the paramedics to question her.

"Yeah, but I haven't talked to either one of them since I turned eighteen. Those two are completely insane, and I practically ran out of the house once I was old enough just to get away from them."

"Why do you call them insane?"

"Because they would kidnap people and lock them in the basement until they got their ransom money, not just to get money but because they got a kick out of the thrill of the kidnaping and the possibility of killing their victims if their ransom was not made. They never actually killed anyone, but they dream about what it would be like to kill someone. They never hurt anyone, but I still remember hearing the people's cries for help from upstairs in my bedroom. I wanted to help them, but I was terrified of what my parents would do if I got caught. They would normally deprive me of food and even water for long periods of time if I so much as forgot to wash the dinner dishes. They never beat me, but I knew that if they had a good enough excuse they would take great pleasure in inflicting pain on me, that was the impression they gave."

"Why did they kidnap you?" VanPelt asked.

Sarah shook her head. "No idea. I was on my way to go hiking, but when I got to my regular trail, they grabbed me and forced me into their car and drove me here. My friends were all out of town, or I would have normally been hiking with them. They locked me up here and just left some water and bread for me to live on. I was terrified at how long they would be gone, but I couldn't break free."

Lisbon spoke up, "We found a bloodied shirt at the campsite where you were supposedly kidnaped. Do you know anything about that?"

Sarah pulled up her pant leg to a reveal a large bandage on her thigh. "They cut my leg here and soaked up the blood with a shirt I had in my bag for hiking. They bound it up good, but it still hurt like heck. But, thankfully that was all they did to me."

"Any idea where they are now?" Rigsby asked.

Sarah shrugged. "If they thought you were on to them, they probably fled. I have no idea if they have extra money or passports or anything for traveling. Sorry."

Lisbon nodded to the paramedics and they began to pull Sarah out. "Thank you, Sarah, for your help, and I promise that they will be caught prosecuted for what they did to you."

Sarah grabbed Jane's arm just before she was at the door. "Wait, were you the one to find me?"

"Well, kind of."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you, thank you everyone for finding me."

Jane gave her hand a squeeze before Sarah was taken outside to the ambulance. He turned back to the team. "Well, now that she is safe and on her way to the hospital, how about finding Bonnie and Clyde?"

Lisbon nodded. "Right, let's get to work."

The cabin was searched as Jane, Lisbon and the team went back to the station and sent out an notice for the arrest of Mr. Lampton and Helen. Everyone was on alert for the two, and Lisbon and the team scoured all the information they could get on the couple about any possible house in other states, passports, anything that might lead them to an arrest. After an all night of looking, they found nothing. They finally got a report that Helen's was seen at a gas station near the California-Mexico border an hour ago, but that was the only thing they could find. Lisbon realized that they could do nothing from where they were, as they were all dead tired from the late night. She decided to let everyone head home for a full rest, and then resume the search the next, hoping that Mexican authorities would help them in finding the two kidnapers.

Lisbon and Jane got in Jane's car and headed back to their apartment. Lisbon turned to Jane as they pulled to a stop at the traffic light. "So, what was that clue you kept talking about?"

**Yay! Another long chapter! My plan is working, mwahahaha :) Okay, my story outline is working. But I could use it to take over the world! Or not. Maybe I should just shut up now and let you all do the talking in a Review! I love to read what guys think, so thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	35. A Tale of a Clue

**Good day everyone! Here is the next chapter, so please ENJOY!**

"Well?" Lisbon asked.

Jane turned to her. "What?"

"The clue, Jane, what was that clue you went on and on about?"

"Oh, that," Jane shrugged, "There was no clue."

"What?" Lisbon shouted, almost slamming on the brakes. "What do you mean there was no clue?"

"I mean that there was no physical clue. I found no actual evidence that helped the case."

"Then why did you lie to everyone?"

Jane smirked. "I believe it was what you would call a 'Red Herring.' I wanted Lampton and Helen to think we had an actual clue so they would be on edge, leading to them making a couple mistakes."

"And what mistakes did they make?"

Jane leaned back, getting comfortable. "I suspected after our meal with Lampton that he was probably our man. A loving father would not have held off trying to find his daughter for so long, especially with a bloody t-shirt telling him that she was probably injured or dead. But he did tell a good story, I will give him that."

"What about Helen? What mistakes did she make?"

"Well, when Lampton told us about her, I thought that he was just diverting us. But when I actually met her and saw her house, I realized that they were probably working together. Her house was super neat and organized, like she was putting up a front. In fact, her house looked _too_ nice, like she was hiding something major. I suspected that she and Lampton were into some criminal activity, like smuggling or kidnaping, and that Sarah had gotten in the way. When Helen talked with us, she broke down. I realized that she was probably trying to put up a front that she was a proper housewife, but then her break down felt really fake, like she was just acting a part."

"Okay, so those two were acting suspicious. But how did you know where Sarah was hidden?"

"I grabbed a map of the park and was able to isolate the closet cabin the campsite, and then deduced that she was probably there."

"How in the world were you so sure of that?"

"I looked up the owner and found out it was one of Helen's ex-husbands, who is busy during this time of the year, so it is wide open for anyone to use."

Lisbon pursed her lips. "Jane, sometimes I really wish that you would let me know that sort of thing. It would make things run a whole lot smoother for me, especially with..." She stopped.

Jane looked at her, slightly worried. "Especially...with the baby?"

Lisbon nodded. "Yeah, that. With everything that has been going on with Sarah and LaRoche, I sometimes I forget that I am even pregnant. But when I pause, it all comes rushes back to me," She glanced at Jane, "To be honest, I'm still a little freaked out about what will happen in the future with our kid. Will it be healthy, will it be happy, will I completely mess up and raise a serial killer...that sort of thing."

Jane put his hand on her shoulder. "I understand. Maybe I should try and tell you what information I have sooner, so don't have to worry as much. As long as you try and relax more. No more late nights or taking work home. You have an extra person to take care of, I doubt that it enjoys your high stress levels and skipping of meals. A cup of coffee just doesn't cut it for an infant. They like good food coming down from the top."

Lisbon smiled slightly. "Okay, I'll try and make it a point to slow down. And, I'll make sure to take a sandwich with me so that our little person has good food to enjoy."

Jane grinned. "Good. Speaking of which, how about turkey sandwiches tonight? Simple, easy, and I can make a yummy spicy spread."

"Fine, but only if I get extra cheese."

"Agreed."

Finally they reached their apartment and parked. When they got to the door, Lisbon opened it and they went in, Jane turning on the lights. Lisbon was just about to take her jacket off when she froze, making Jane stop abruptly as well. The sight of two guns being aimed at her and Jane was not something she wanted to see that evening.

"Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Jane. We were getting worried that you might spend the night at the station."

**Thoughts? Feelings? Ideas? Please share them in a Review, thank you! I love to hear from you all. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	36. The Tale of Kidnapers

**Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter, so ENJOY!**

Lisbon and Jane put their hands up. Lisbon frowned at their captors.

"Mr. Lampton, Helen, how nice to see you again."

Mr. Lampton grinned. "Why, thank you, Agent Lisbon, or Mrs. Jane. Any preference for what we should call you?"

"Don't worry about it," Helen chimed in, "We will probably be together for so long that we might get a first-name basis with these two. Right, Patrick?"

Jane shrugged. "Depends. If we spend our time drinking tea and playing board games, then, yes, we could get on a first-name basis. But if our time together includes torture and possibly death, then we might want to stick with the formalities."

Mr. Lampton nodded. "Good point. Well, you may as well take a seat, we might be here a while."

"Oh, and why is that?" Jane asked.

Helen smirked at him. "Oh, just for our own reasons. Go ahead, take a seat while we wait."

Jane and Lisbon slowly took a seat on the couch across from the kidnaping couple, wary of the guns still pointed at them. After a couple minutes of silence, Jane started up again. "So, why the wait? I mean, are you holding us hostage in order to negotiate your escape or do you just want to kill us?"

Mr. Lampton shook his head. "No, nothing like that. We have no personal vendetta against you two. Just doing our jobs. Oh, and is it true that the police think we're in Mexico?"

Jane nodded. "Yes, supposedly your car was found near the border. The police are at a bit of dead end because of it."

"Wow, that is quite impressive."

"Why?" Lisbon asked.

"Because we didn't think that it would be that easy to get the police to smack against a brick wall," Helen explained, "I thought for sure it would take more evidence than that to put a stopper on your investigation, at least temporarily."

"Yeah, he was right about it."

"He?" Lisbon asked.

"Our boss," Mr. Lampton said.

"And your boss would be...?" Jane asked.

"Oh, we can't say. Actually, we don't have any specific proof of who he is, we just have a couple suspicions. But he really knows what he's talking about."

"But what does he want with us?" Lisbon asked.

"We don't know, nor do we care," Helen said. "We are just supposed to wait here until we get a call and then deliver you to wherever we are told to go. Then we get paid, and off to Canada we go!"

"So the whole kidnaping your daughter thing was just a ploy?" Jane asked.

"Exactly. We don't care about Sarah. She can rot in a hole for all we care," Helen explained."

"Then why did you kidnap her to begin with?"

Mr. Lampton and Helen shared a look before Helen nodded and Mr. Lampton began explaining, "We used to work as private kidnappers. Never hurt anyone, we just wanted ransom money. It was a nice way to make a living, so we did it for decades. Eventually, we began to do private contract work for people who wanted to earn their own ransom money, providing us a small fee of course, and that was how we were approached by some guy, who worked for a company that was owned by another guy, you know, just your typical tangled web covering up who was actually behind it all. The guy's boss wanted us to kidnap our daughter and use her as bait to bring you two out. We were left various instructions for what to do, how to talk, etc. and then the end result was that we would kidnap you two, bring you to our boss, and get paid. So far, everything has worked as planned."

Lisbon sat absorbing this information, trying to make sense of it, while Jane just persisted along with his questioning. "Any idea why we were supposed to be 'brought out'?"

"We figured somebody probably just wants to kill you. We didn't ask questions."

"But why did you need to bring us 'out'? You could have easily kidnaped us from this place without having to kidnap Sarah or anything."

Helen shrugged. "No idea. I think our boss either likes to make things overly complicated, or, maybe, he just likes to play games with the police."

Jane thought for a moment. 'Games?' That was an interesting idea.

Lisbon spoke up. "So it was you two who left those envelopes on our cars."

Mr. Lampton stared at her. "Envelopes? We never left any envelopes for you."

Jane's mind began to process things, and he asked, "You said you had suspicions about who your boss is. Can you at least tell us so we know who hates us so much?"

Mr. Lampton and Helen shared another look. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," Helen began, "We think our boss is..."

The twinkle of broken glass proceeded the sudden collapse of Helen and Mr. Lamtpon to the floor, dead.

**Yay! Another chapter done! Please let me know how you are liking this story, or hating it, in a Review, thank you! Is this mystery good, bad or otherwise? I like to hear your thoughts. Until next chapter, Li Li**


	37. The Tale of A New Case

**Hello wonderful readers! I left you on a cliffhanger last time, so without further ado, here is the next chapter. ENJOY!**

Lisbon got on the floor and grabbed their guns, before getting close to the wall, trying to look out the window. Jane checked the two kidnappers and found two bullet holes from a sniper rifle in the back of their heads, and two small holes in the window from where they were shot.

After a minute, Lisbon was able to spot someone get into a van across the street and speed off. She could only hope that the snipers were gone, but was not pleased that she couldn't identity the person or the vehicle. She stood up.

"I think the snipers are gone. Are they dead?"

Jane nodded. "Yes, instantaneous. Impressive how someone was able to shoot them so accurately. I guess we are not working with amateur killers."

"But why those two? Why did they not bother to try and kill us next?"

"My guess is that whoever hired our kidnapers no longer needed them, so they were disposed of."

"But why now? Whoever hired these two does not have us, so why kill them now?"

Jane shook his head slightly, running over a couple possibilities in his mind. None of it was for sure, and he wasn't liking his options. He jumped up, turning to Lisbon. "Well, whatever the reason, I don't think we should sit around and wait to be kidnaped. I'll call the team and let them know that our kidnaping couple is lying dead in our living room."

While Jane called the station, Lisbon grabbed some binoculars and tried to figure out where the snipers had fired from. The building across from the apartment was an empty business building that had been built, but had not been sold to anyone. Several of the windows facing her were perfect vantage points for firing into her home.

The team finally arrived, looking partly asleep, but alert enough to lead officers and paramedics in. Lisbon led the team in analyzing the crime scene, and then watched as the bodies were taken away. Rigsby worked on contacting whoever owned the other building to see how easy it would be to break into, while Cho and Van Pelt helped write up the crime scene and then help Lisbon and Jane clean it up.

Lisbon and Jane drove back to the station to analyze their new findings and try to find a clue as to who hired Mr. Lampton and Helen.

They worked for about an hour, but came up with nothing.

Eventually, everyone took a nap and woke up to the early morning sun. They continued working, eating a brief breakfast and lunch, but it ended up that some tests and sources would take a while to return results, so everyone sat back and took a break. That was when LaRoche decided to send for Lisbon and Jane.

They both entered his office, where he sat behind his desk looking his regular unimpressed.

Once the couple was seated, he began, "Agent Lisbon, if you would please explain this, situation, that you are in currently."

Lisbon explained about Sarah, Helen and Mr. Lampton, with Jane remaining surprisingly quiet. When she finally updated LaRoche on any leads in the current case of Jane and Lisbon's almost abduction, LaRoche nodded. "I see. It seems to me that you two seem to be at the center of this case. Any idea who would want to go through all this trouble just to, well, not kidnap you?"

Jane piped up then. "Oh, we have plenty of ideas. It is just a matter of deciding which one is crazy enough to be the truth."

LaRoche ignored Jane and focused on Lisbon. She shrugged slightly. "We have no positive leads, but we are working every end of this case. We will hopefully have some results on the sniper's gun and maybe get some video from the area around the apartment and see the sniper's vehicle. But right now, those things are all in progress and we have no updates for you, sir."

LaRoche thought about it for a second before nodding. "Very well. I look forward to any actual results that you can produce for me. Soon. Until then, I am still cutting you two's pay for two weeks while you continue to work this case. Since Sarah came back unharmed, I won't actually suspend you from work. But I want this case tidied up soon, understand?" They nodded. "Good, now you may get back to work."

The pair quickly left his office, breathing a sigh of relief. They got off pretty easy(for LaRoche), so now they could focus fully on the case.

Several hours and several dead ends later, the team was once again looking forward to going home for the night. Lisbon ordered everyone out and she and Jane followed as everyone left.

"Hey, your car is still here, right?" Lisbon asked Jane.

"Oh, right. I need to get that home. Is it alright if we drive separately? I also need to do something on the way home."

"Sure, I'll meet you home." Lisbon headed toward her car while Jane ran to his.

Jane sped off, heading to the supermarket. He was hoping to pick up some ingredients to make Lisbon a nice dinner to help her relax after this case. He knew it was draining her, and in her current physical condition, she needed to rest and eat some healthy food.

As Jane was browsing the vegetable aisle, Lisbon was waiting at a stoplight. She was eager to just get home and put her feet up. Her hand slid to her stomach and she smiled slightly. "Don't worry, kid, I'll make sure to eat enough tonight to satisfy both our hungers.

As the light turned green, she drove into the intersection. What she didn't see was the large SUV as it slammed into the side of her car. Nor did she see it back up and speed off in the opposite direction as she slid into darkness.

**Alright, now we are getting into the good/bad stuff. I know a couple of you were eager to get back to Lisbon/Jane/baby moments, so I promise that will be highlighted in future chapters. I always love to hear your thoughts and suggestions, so please Review! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	38. The Tale of An Accident

**Hello everyone! Apparently some of you believe that I am addicted to cliffhangers. Well, that may be true. But it is all part of my actual, written out plan. Besides, I have to keep you coming back for more, right? You might not want to read more if I didn't leave you pulling your hair out at the end of each chapter. Or maybe you would. Who knows ;) Anyway, please ENJOY this next chapter!**

The ambulance sped toward the hospital, carrying Lisbon. The paramedics worked hard to keep her alive as stayed unconscious, oblivious to all that was going around and inside of her.

Jane browsed through the aisles, grabbing an ingredient here and there for dinner. He was excited to get home, but still needed to decide on a dessert. Perhaps a cheesecake would work...his thoughts were interrupted by his cell ringing. He answered it.

"Jane here." He fell silent, barely able to breathe as he listened to a nurse at the hospital tell him what happened. "I'll be right there." He said softly. He closed his phone and left his cart in the aisle, racing towards his car.

As he drove through the city towards the hospital, Jane couldn't help but send up a prayer for Lisbon's safety and for the baby's as well. He could only pray that he wouldn't become a widower all over again.

When he arrived at the hospital, the staff pointed him to the direction of the operating room that Lisbon was in. Jane found Rigsby, Cho and Van Pelt already in the waiting room, pacing or fiddling.

"How is she?" Jane asked. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Cho answered.

"She is in surgery. Apparently she broke a couple ribs and lost a lot of blood, but that is all."

"Why is she in surgery?"

"They wouldn't say. I think they were afraid that their might have been internal bleeding, but it was minimal. But, from what we can tell, she seems to be doing okay right now."

Jane breathed sigh of relief and leaned against the wall, counting the ceiling tiles, anxious for some sort of news.

Finally, the doctor came in. Jane practically jumped him in getting news. "How is she?"

"Ah, you must be Mr. Jane. Your wife is doing well. From what I hear about the collision, it was a miracle that she survived, and with as minimal injuries as she had. She just came out of surgery and is now recovering. She will have to stay here for a few days, but I believe she will be able to make a full recovery." The rest of the team relaxed at that news, but Jane could sense that something was up.

"Why was she in surgery? Was it anything serious?"

The doctor sighed. "She had some internal bleeding, but we were able to stop it and sew her back up."

"And...?" Jane knew there was more.

"And so we could remove the baby. I am sorry, Mr. Jane, but your wife had a miscarriage."

Lisbon slowly became awake as the drugs wore off. She felt that her surroundings were unusual from the feel of the mattress beneath her, the dressing gown she was wearing, various things that were poked into her and from the steady beeping noise that she could only assume to be her heart. As she opened her eyes, she saw that her initial assumptions were correct and that she was in a hospital room. She was alone.

Her mind scrambled to figure out how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was being in her car and pulling into that intersection...of course. She must have been in a car accident. She quickly checked herself, but found that all her limbs were still attached and that she had cuts and bruises all over. She felt, under the dressing gown, some sort of large bandage over her abdomen, but she could only hope it was nothing too serious. As she tried to move, she winced a bit, finding that one of her ribs was broken. But, overall, she was pleased to find that she was not too terribly injured.

She settled back down in bed, looking for the nurse button. When she found it, a nurse quickly showed up, relieved to see that she was awake.

"Ah, Agent Lisbon, it is good to see that you are awake. How do you feel?"

"Sore, and a pain in my ribcage, but other than that I think I'm fine."

"Good. I'll go get the doctor. Also, your husband is here, if you want to see him."

"Of course. Send both in."

The nurse nodded, but she didn't quite meet Lisbon's eye. Lisbon wondered if the bandage on her abdomen was more serious, but decided to wait to hear from the doctor.

When he arrived, Jane was right behind him, looking haggard by relieved to see her. As soon as he could, he came forward and gave her a tentative hug and a kiss on the forehead. Lisbon smiled.

"Glad to see that someone was worried about me."

"You have no idea." Jane mumbled as he stepped back to let the doctor talk. The doctor nodded.

"Yes, your husband and your team were all very worried. Let me explain what we did." He then went into the various injuries that Lisbon sustained, the accident, etc. But then Lisbon remembered something of great importance.

"Doctor, I'm pregnant. How did the baby do?"

Jane hung his head and the Doctor pursed his lips and shook his head. Lisbon suddenly felt like something had punched her in the face and she turned her face to the ceiling, tears forming in her eyes.

'Oh God,' She thought, 'Not this. Anything but this.'

**Alright, I'm ready, throw flames at me, I deserve it. But I had to do this. This was actually part of my original idea fro the beginning. But you can still yell at me about it, I can take it. So, send in your Reviews and I'll get started on the next installment. Until the next chapter, Li Li.**


	39. A Tale of Loss

**(peeks around corner) Hi again, can I come out? I knew that my last chapter would make a lot of you upset, so, I am ready for the pitchforks and torches. But, it was for the good of the story! Hopefully you will agree in future chapters. Now, for this chapter, please ENJOY!**

After the doctor had told Lisbon the bad news, he had left the couple alone to grieve.

Lisbon continued to stare at the ceiling, her mind too overcome with the news to even form coherent thoughts. Jane stood for a few minutes, then sat down on the chair next to the bed. Neither said a word. The silence said enough about the situation, there were no words of comfort they could offer each other and no words could hide the pain.

When thirty minutes had passed, Jane finally placed his hand on the bed, palm up, an invitation for physical comfort. Lisbon looked down briefly and then placed her hand into his. The comforting grip of the two together helped each other mentally, but they still said nothing.

Lisbon closed her eyes and allowed herself to cry. Of all the things that could happen to her, this had to be one of the most devastating. She had been looking forward to holding her child in her arms, raising it with Jane, and now it was suddenly ripped from her grasp and she was left feeling hollow. She could feel the bandage that covered where the surgery had been done, and she felt that it was a hollow symbol for trying to cover the hole that her miscarriage had left in her heart. Lisbon wished she could feel angry, furious even, at the world. She wished she could blame someone for this. But her heart could only focus on the deep, wrenching sadness of losing her child, ignoring all other feelings including hate and anger. All she was left with was her thoughts and tears.

Jane watched Lisbon cry, feeling helpless. He was normally so sure of what was going on and what he needed to do. But now, he had a grieving wife and a lost baby. The child was to him the ultimate symbol of what he had lost and regained. Sure, life had dealt him some awful cards. But now he could start fresh, with a wife to love and a child to raise together. Then the car crash, and everything fell to pieces. It was like all the feelings he had felt when his first wife and daughter had died were crushing him again, with a vengeance. But, he knew that a trip to a mental asylum was not going to help this time. He couldn't just have a breakdown and hide it all. This time he would need to face the situation head on and deal with it. Plus, he was no longer alone in his grief. Lisbon was going through the sadness of losing a child for the first time. Jane could feel her clenching his hand as she cried, seeming to try and crush all the sad thoughts she had. Jane needed to be strong for her, to help her through this. Jane allowed himself to grieve for the child, wallowing in the misery of the situation.

Eventually, Lisbon cried herself to sleep and Jane stood up, ready for action. He wanted information about the car accident, he wanted to be sure that the person who caused it was brought to justice. But he also had the feeling that there was more to the story than just Lisbon getting hit by a car. Something was up, and he intended to find out what.

He went back to the waiting room, where the team was sitting talking. They looked up at Jane when he entered, but Van Pelt was the only one who spoke to him.

"How is she doing?"

Jane took a deep breath. "Physically, she is doing okay. But, she didn't take the news well."

"And you?"

Jane shrugged. "Okay. But I want to focus on the accident. Have you learned anything about who hit her?"

Cho stood up. "Whoever hit her fled the scene in the same vehicle. From security footage, it seems that the car hit her, backed up, and drove away in a hurry. We're tracking the license plates now."

"A hit and run?" Jane asked.

Rigsby cleared his throat. "So far, yes. But we have no clear cut details yet. We know the driver was not drunk because of the skill with being able to drive away carefully, but other than that, no leads."

Suddenly, Cho's phone went off. He answered it briefly, hung up and turned to Jane. "We found the owner of the vehicle. Apparently the car is registered to a Tom Phillips, but it was listed as stolen a week ago. Now, the police found it about 10 miles from the crash site, abandoned in an alleyway. A team is being sent to search for fingerprints and clues."

Jane sat down, deep in thought. Rigsby spoke up, "Then, maybe it was just some thieves who stole the car, were joyriding, and crashed it into Lisbon. Obviously they would not want to wait around, so they fled when they thought it was safe."

Jane shook his head. "No, no this was all pre-planned. I doubt that there will any fingerprints or clues in the car, and even if you did find any, the actual driver is probably dead by now."

VanPelt turned to him. "Why would you say that?"

"Because this was not the work of an amateur hit and run driver. This was all carefully planned by someone who's only goal was to hurt me by hurting my wife and killing my child."

They all stared at him. Rigsby said, "You mean..."

"Yes. Red John."

**Yeah, I know, surprise, surprise. But, who else could I possibly pick for this? Red John is one of the best villains out there, Jane's arch-nemesis, so of course he had to be in the story. So, what did you think? Please let me know in a Review, because I love to hear your thoughts. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	40. The Tale of a Text

**Hello again! Are you ready for the next chapter? Yeah! Maybe? Well, either way, here it is. ENJOY!**

The team stared at Jane.

"You're sure?" Rigsby asked.

Jane nodded. "I'm sure. Everything fits." Jane explained about what Mr. Lampton and Helen has said, and about the notes on the cars. "Only Red John would find it fun to show how much he knows about us, by creating strife through showing me my family photo and then having Lisbon discover that she was pregnant. He is the only person who would do that sort of thing."

"So, you think that Red John was trying to get Lisbon killed?" VanPelt asked.

Jane nodded. "Or, at least severally injure her...and even to just kill the baby."

Suddenly, Cho's phone went off again. He walked away to talk on it for a few minutes, then came back. "Jane's right, it was Red John. Our team found the car in a alleyway, complete with the driver laying on the ground dead, his blood used to make the face on the back window. The driver was a local street racer looking for cash, and so far no clues about who killed him. The area is to secluded."

The four were silent for a while, before VanPelt finally asked, "So, what do we do now? Lisbon's hit and run guy is dead, that just adds another file to the Red John case."

"And that will have to be it." Jane said, standing up. "Lisbon's 'case' is closed, now you three can focus back on Red John and other cases."

"Us? What about you?" Rigsby asked.

Jane shrugged slightly. "Well, I'll be a bit busy with Lisbon, but then I'll just go back to my own look at the Red John case. But for now, you three should go home. You did a lot and you helped Lisbon and I plenty for today. I'll let you know of any developments with Lisbon's health."

The three were not convinced at this sudden change of mood, but their exhaustion was too evident to ignore. They each said good night and left, leaving Jane alone in the waiting room.

He quickly whipped out his phone. It had begun buzzing that he had received a text message when VanPelt has asked her last question, and he felt that it was too important to put off reading, but also probably private. He opened the message, and almost stopped breathing.

'How is your wife, Mr. Jane? I hope that she is not too upset about the baby.' The number was unknown, and Jane knew that it would be impossible to track who the author was.

Jane texted back, 'Red John, long time no talk. I would have rather done it in person.'

Soon after, 'Yes, me too. But circumstances won't allow it.'

'Ah, too bad. Why the condolences?'

'I thought it would only be proper to check on you after the loss of your second child.'

Jane gripped the phone a little tighter. 'Not too happy about it. But, you already knew that.'

'Of course, that was my intention.'

'But why? Were you trying to kill both my wife and child a second time?'

'Kill Agent Lisbon? Of course not. She adds too much interest to our little 'relationship."

'How so?'

'She is smart, hard working, and someone you love. A triple-threat.'

'But why not kill her as well as the child?'

'I don't want to kill her. Yet. For now, I'll settle for the baby.'

Jane glared at the phone. 'Want to save some more suffering for later?'

'Exactly. Just a reminder.'

'A reminder of what?'

'That your private life is not private to me. I am watching you, Mr. Jane.'

'Then why not confront me now?'

'Where would the fun be in that?'

'When can I expect you to invade my life again?'

'Can't say. I'm very busy right now, but I will come back to you again. Someday. Just be patient.'

'I'll be waiting. But next time, maybe a talk in person would be in order.'

'Perhaps. Good bye, Mr. Jane.'

Jane starred at the phone, internally fuming. He hated how Red John liked to play games. He hated that he lost his first wife and child just because Red John took offense. He hated how Red John was always one step ahead, and that Jane was constantly having to wiggle around to just try and keep up. And he really, really hated Red John for finding it entertaining to harm an innocent life barely begun. Just for the sake of a game.

Jane leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. But it was not time to play Red John's game. Red John was going to be there, to be dealt with at a later date. There was no use trying to find him now, when Red John would be hiding himself even better.

No, now was the time to help Lisbon, the one good thing that Red John had not destroyed. The one thing that kept Jane going, happy and alive. If he lost her, whether to depression or death, he would lose everything.

He took a couple breathes, then stood up. Now was the time to help his wife, but first he needed a strong cup of tea.

**A couple notes: First, I have no clue if Jane and Red John have ever communicated like that, and I apologize if I did not portray Red John correctly. I tried my best, but if you have an insight, please share.**

**Second, if you thought that the whole 'case' was cut short, the reason is because I don't want to get into another case storyline, plus I wanted to leave it open for any changes in the Mentalist canon, and I don't think Jane would abandon Lisbon like that to go play 'Revenge.' Also, I did try to wrap this intense chapter with a bit of humor, to lighten the mood.**

**And finally, Yay for Chapter 40! I am so excited to have reached this milestone, and I would like to thank all the wonderful readers who have stuck with me! I hope that you have liked the story so far, and that you will continue to enjoy it as we move on.**

**Please review! I love to hear from all of you, and until next chapter, Li Li.**


	41. A Tale of Mourning

**Hi again everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I suddenly got bogged down with a lot of stuff. But things have settled down, so I can focus on this story again. I am so glad for all the positive responses I received concerning the last chapter. I was worried about my portrayal of Red John, but thankfully you all seemed to think I did pretty good. I appreciate it, thank you! And now, for those of you missing our lovely couple, let us get back to Jane/Lisbon goodness. Enjoy!**

Jane spent the night in Lisbon's room, where she had slept since hearing the news about the baby. When morning came, the doctor gave Lisbon the go to head home and rest. She had merely nodded and signed any papers given to her, not saying a word. Jane tried to get her to say something all morning, but she had either just shrugged or moved her head in response. Jane had updated the rest of the team about Lisbon's condition, but requested that they leave the two of them alone for the time being.

The pair drove home in silence, with Lisbon never turning from the window. When they got back to their apartment, Jane helped Lisbon inside and she sat on the couch, still just starring into space. Jane decided to make some tea and a some toast for them to eat, but Lisbon ignored both when he set them in front of her.

The silence in the apartment seemed to be crushing Jane, but he did not know what to say.

Finally, it was Lisbon who broke the silence. "Do you think we should get new carpet?"

Jane stared at her, stunned. "Uh, new carpet?"

"Yeah, in this room. Since those two got killed here, I think it might be sanitary to replace the carpeting. What do you think?"

"Uh, sure."

Lisbon nodded. "Good. We should do that soon."

"Yeah."

Jane continued to stare at Lisbon, and silence came back. Jane was still trying to comprehend what brought on the whole carpet thing, but he could only attribute the randomness to her depression.

After an hour of this, Jane couldn't stand it anymore. He leaned forward. "Listen, Lisbon, I..."

"You know what? I think I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Lisbon quickly stood up and went to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Jane stared at the door; feelings of sadness and the futility of his efforts washing over him. How could he get Lisbon back? He knew she needed to talk, but how could he do that when she was shutting him out?

He quietly got up and went to the door, listening. He heart broke when he heard the sobs coming from the other side. He leaned his head against the door, took a breath, and then opened the door. Lisbon was curled up on the bed, her back to him.

She went rigid and silent when he sat on the bed her, putting his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off and buried her face into her pillow. Jane watched her for a moment and then put his hand back on her shoulder, laying down behind her. She did not move this time, but she did whisper, "Leave me alone, Jane. I just want to be left alone."

Jane frowned. "Sorry, but I can't do that. As your husband I am supposed to comfort you and help you in any time of distress."

"Well, you can comfort me by leaving me alone."

"Nope, not going to happen."

"Jane..." Lisbon warned.

Jane could not help but grin a little. He was finally getting some sort of reaction out of her. "Still not leaving."

Lisbon sighed. "Fine, whatever." And then she went silent.

Jane sat behind her for a long time, his hand never leaving her shoulder. Eventually, she began silently crying again, but Jane did not move. Then she finally cried herself to sleep, and Jane took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and pull her to him. As she slept on him, her face stained with tear streaks, he sighed.

This was going to be a long journey.

* * *

><p>It truly was a long journey, and Jane did not make much headway in the coming weeks. Lisbon still ignored him, and he still had to force her to let him touch her and comfort her. Hand on shoulder was as physical as they got, or as far as Lisbon would go. Whenever Jane tried to talk to her, she either ignored him or left the room. Occasionally she made him sleep on the couch out of annoyance. Lisbon tried to be understanding, but he felt that they were growing further and further apart as the days past.<p>

After about three weeks, Lisbon and Jane were allowed back to work and Lisbon threw herself into it, spending long hours at work, skipping meals, and even sleeping at the station many nights. Jane never left her side, bringing her food and water, putting pillows under her head, and even trying to avoid being a pain on cases(which was incredibly difficult at times).

Another three weeks went by and Lisbon still kept up her destructive behavior, getting thinner and more ragged. The entire team was worried and even went to LaRoche to try and get her sent to therapy. But Lisbon refused everything, and even LaRoche's hands were tied in the middle of a management change that was happening. Everyone could only sit back and watch Lisbon, trying to help in what little ways they could, but ultimately being forced to just focus on work and hope that she got better soon.

One day, the team was busy with various duties, no large cases coming to their attention, and Jane was left to just sit and watch Lisbon working on reports in her office. She had finally kicked him out after the first week, in order to avoid him, and could only sneak in if she was away or sleeping at her desk.

As he watched her typing, the dark circles under her eyes prominent, Jane tried to think up a plan. He knew he had to do something drastic to get her to face her pain and move past it. But what?

He twiddled his thumbs, drank some tea, shifted pillows, but still nothing came to him. Finally, he stood up and headed to the kitchen to get the tea pot boiling. While he waited for the water to boil, he sorted through the various tea bags in the cupboard. One box caught his eye. It was some tropical flavor and had a picture of a beach scene on the front. As stared at it, a plan formed in his head. A very 'Jane' plan.

He grinned.

**Yay! A Jane Plan! Those are always fun :) I hope that this longer chapter made up for the long wait, but please tell me either way in a Review! Thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	42. A Tale of Being Taken

**Hello again, my fantastic and wonderful readers! I suddenly got super inspired to write this out, so I had a ton of fun writing this. It was a nice change from all the drama of previous chapters, and I hope to keep up the fun pace. So, please ENJOY!**

Teresa starred at the computer, rubbing her eyes occasionally, as she typed out a report. Finally, she hit the last key and saved it, leaning back to stretch, as she looked outside her office, she noticed that it was unusually empty. She glanced at her clock.

11:00pm.

She groaned. No wonder she felt exhausted. Everyone had long since gone home and she had pulled another late night. She sat up and grabbed a blanket. No use going home, she would just have to sleep here again.

As she settled down on her couch, her eyelids slowly drooping, she suddenly thought of something:

Where was Jane?

As this common worry went through her mind, her mind drifted into sleep.

About an hour later, her eyes flew open. She had heard something. Her gun was in her desk so she clutched at her shoe that was by the couch, ready to defend herself if necessary. She looked around, but saw no movement. She slowly moved her head and started to sit up, looking around outside her office carefully.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her mouth, covering it with a damp cloth. Teresa was about to grab the arm, but quickly darkness overtook her once more.

* * *

><p>When Teresa slowly began to reawaken, her first sensation was the sound of birds. And waves. And the feeling of sand under her hands. She opened her eyes, blinking at the brightness that surrounded her. She carefully sat up, looking around.<p>

She was on a beach. Palm trees surrounded the coast, the sea crashed onto the beach, and birds called out to her from their nests.

How in the world...?

"Good morning Lisbon."

Teresa spun around, crouching into a defensive stance. She glared at the voice's owner.

"JANE! WHAT..."

"Don't shout, you'll scare the birds." Patrick Jane responded, sitting under an umbrella sipping tea, with his feet propped up, looking quite pleased with himself.

Teresa continued to glare at him. "What did you do? Where am I?"

"What did I do? I merely stole you away to a tropical paradise for a few days, or weeks, vacation, filled with singing birds, swaying palm trees, and yummy drinks with those little umbrella things. I love those umbrella things. Very festive."

"But why? Did you drug me?"

"Oh, yeah, I did. Just a little chloroform, nothing serious. And I made sure you were comfortable on the trip here," He took another sip, "And as to why I did it, I think you know the answer."

Teresa stayed silent.

Jane put his teacup down. "But, since you probably don't want to talk about that right now, how about some breakfast? I have French Toast, with maple syrup and powdered sugar that has your name on it...Literally. I spelled it out with the powdered sugar. Well, kind of. The syrup kind of ran everywhere, made a mess, so now it is just swirly...things. But still, it did have your name on it once. Want it?"

Teresa was about to go on a tirade against Jane, but her stomach grumbled. She could not remember the last time she ate. Plus, that syrup spelled really good.

Teresa sighed. "Fine. Where's a fork?"

Patrick grinned at her, motioning to the seat beside his table. As she unhappily sat down, Patrick picked up his teacup once again and took a sip.

This was going to be fun.

After a silent breakfast, Teresa got up and stormed towards the beach house.

It was a small house, right on the beach, situated far from any road or other people. Patrick had been pleased to find it, in order to gain privacy, but Teresa failed to see the positive side to being in the middle of nowhere.

Instead, Teresa was stomping around the house, trying to find the bathroom, while Patrick slowly walked in, leaning against the doorpost. She refused to acknowledge him, proceeding to open every door until she found a small bathroom off the kitchen. She shut herself up inside it and Patrick was left alone.

He calmly put his tea cup in the kitchen and then waited outside the bathroom door. He heard water running and knew that she had to be washing her face and brushing her teeth. Eventually, the water was turned off and the door slowly opened. Teresa glared at Patrick, who just smiled.

"Take me back," She commanded. Patrick thought about that for a second.

"No," He replied, still smiling.

"Yes."

"No."

"YES!"

"Still no."

"JANE!"

"Still no."

Teresa sputtered for a second, fuming over his attitude. She stomped back into the living room and sat on the couch, glaring ahead of her. Patrick sat down on the chair beside the couch and waited.

Eventually, Teresa calmed down a bit and groaned. "Jane, please just take me home."

"I can't do that," Patrick said, "You need to get away from there. You need a break. You need time to think. And you definitely need yummy drinks with little umbrellas in them."

Teresa put her head in her hands. "How do you know what I need?"

"Because I needed the same thing."

Teresa was quiet, thinking. Jane waited.

Teresa slowly nodded. "Fine, I'll stay, but only for a short time."

Patrick smiled, inside doing a victory dance.

"But first, you have to do something for me?"

"What?"

"Bring me one of those yummy drinks with the umbrellas."

**What did you think? Please let me know in a Review! I am always eager to hear your thoughts, suggestions or even flames. Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	43. A Tale of Activities

**Hi again everyone! No long author's note here, so please just ENJOY!**

After Patrick had brought Teresa her yummy beverage, they settled onto the couch in the living room.

When they would normally sit together, they would chat about the most random of things. Now, with the deep shadow over them, they could not even bring themselves to talk about the weather. Patrick knew that if they were to proceed, Teresa would need to start the conversation again. But she mentally refused his 'challenge' and instead sat sipping her drink as slowly as she possibly could.

But eventually there was no more drink left and she set her emptied glass on the coffee table. Patrick watched her move, waiting. She finally said, "Is the weather going to stay this warm for a while?"

"Yes, it should be."

"That's nice." Teresa stared at her hands. "Anything in particular you had planned for the rest of the day?"

Patrick grinned. "Well, if you really want to know..."

Waterskiing, skydiving, barbecuing, sword fighting, heck, even pole dancing were all things that she would have thought that they would be doing, before she ever thought of what he actually had planned.

A nap.

That was all he had planned for the afternoon. Well, a nap for her and some tea for him.

Patrick showed Teresa to the master bedroom, which was just off the living room. The large canopy bed looked so inviting that Teresa would have fallen into it if she did not have enough self control.

Patrick showed her a suitcase that he had packed for her, told her to call for him if she needed anything, and then left her alone. She slowly took off her work clothes and put on some PJ's, and then crawled onto the bed. Even though she was expecting Patrick to want to talk about the one subject she had been trying to avoid for so long, she could not help but silently thank him for bringing her out here, as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Her nose was what awoke Teresa later on, when the smell of grilling hit her nostrils. She slowly opened her eyes, yawned and laid there looking out the window. It was evening now and the sun was starting to set. That meant that it was dinner time. Teresa was a little stunned that she had slept so long, but her body reminded her it was greatly appreciated as she stood up, finally feeling well rested.<p>

She grabbed some clothes and took a shower in the rather large and fancy bathroom off the master bedroom. That also helped her muscles recover and she was reluctant to get out, but the smell of food drew her out. Once she was dressed, she followed her nose and soon found herself on the patio.

Patrick stood, with his back to her, grilling some steaks. The table was already laid with some bread, salad, fruit and ice cream. Teresa was glad to see such a nice spread, but her eyes were drawn away from the food when Patrick suddenly said, "I hope you like your meat well-done."

"Sure, that's fine," She answered. Of course Patrick would know she was there. He would want to keep an eye on her to keep her from trying to leave, as if she could right now when steaks were being served.

Teresa took a seat and sipped the drink beside her plate. Patrick finished the steaks and brought them over, sitting down across from her.

As they dug into their food, Teresa kept her eyes on her plate, not wanting to meet Patrick's gaze, which never left her face.

When the food was gone, so was a distraction from talking. Teresa decided to stare at the sunset, but even that eventually went down completely, and she was left with Patrick's gaze. Teresa decided to fold and try talking.

"So, what do you have planned for the rest of the time?"

"I take it you enjoyed your nap?"

"Yes, it was greatly appreciated. But, what's next?"

"Hmm, I don't know. I hear bungee jumping is fun."

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. Not going to happen.

"Aww, why not?"

"It is a stupid and dangerous sport. And not exactly the most romantic thing to do for your wife..." Teresa mentally kicked herself as Patrick's eyebrow went up.

"Romantic? I see you have your mind trained elsewhere than just enjoying the sun, sand and sea. That opens a whole realm of activities, such as..."

"Stop right there. I just meant that, well, with this secluded spot that I thought you would try more, well, easy going activities instead of diving off cliffs or going boating or something."

Patrick grinned. "True, I did have some more...relaxing activities in mind. Maybe some walks, a little swimming, watch a movie, that sort of thing."

Teresa looked down at her hands, disapointment suddenly hitting her. Why, she could not tell, but Patrick noticed it.

"Did you have something else in mind?"

"No!" Teresa said a little too quickly. "I mean, maybe. It was just a passing thought, nothing more."

"Would you mind sharing it?"

Teresa sighed. "It was nothing important."

Patrick continued to watch her, waiting.

Finally, Teresa said, "I just thought that maybe you would have something a little more fun planned than 'waling along the beach.' I'm tired of walking, I want something more...meaningful to do."

"Then what do YOU want to do?" Patrick asked, studying her.

Teresa looked at him, thought for a second, and then grabbed his head and brought it to hers. Patrick was momentarily thrown off, but soon matched her ferocity.

It had been a while since they had any type of physical contact, and their bodies were trying to make up for it. The kiss quickly turned passionate, and Patrick guided Teresa toward the bedroom inside, fumbling against furniture and hitting walls as they went.

Needless to say, they were quite busy the rest of the day.

**What did you think? I wonder of all the drinks had something to do with Teresa's beahvior. LOL**

**I actually had big writer's block with this chapter, for some reason. I would look at my screen and keep drawing blanks as to what to write. Finally, I tried a new approach: I put my hands on the keys, looked away from my screen, and just typed out whatever came to my mind. So, if this chapter seems a bit random-ish, that's why. I just let me mind run wild, figuring that I would delete stuff later, but I ended up liking what I wrote. So, my subconscious mind is what wrote this chapter :) But did my subconscious do well? Please tell me in a Review, thank you! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	44. The Tale of Waking Up

**Hi everyone! My busy weeks have ended so now I have more time to devote to this story(see end note for more details on the future of this story), so please ENJOY!**

The rays of sunlight awoke Teresa the next morning. She tried to roll over and hide her face from the morning, but she hit something big. And solid. And warm. Her eyes flew open.

"JANE?" She screamed, jumping back, propelling him awake and alert.

"What! What happened?"

Teresa clutched the sheets to herself, suddenly very aware that she was naked and in bed with an equally naked Patrick Jane.

Patrick looked around, then finally focused on her, raising an eyebrow. "Problem?"

She glared at him, fuming. "Problem? PROBLEM? Why are we in bed together?"

"Well, I think bed is where you go to sleep..."

"You know I don't mean that!"

Patrick still watched her carefully. "Don't you remember what happened?"

Teresa quickly searched her memories, until stopping at the events of the previous night. "Oh," Was all she said, looking down a bit sheepishly.

Patrick burst out laughing, not able to contain it any more. "Ah, so you understand that last night was not MY fault, but that you initiated it. Good, glad that we agree on that."

Teresa refused to look up, embarrassed at her actions last night. After all her hubbub about not wanting to be here, not wanting to talk with Patrick, look at what she did. Of course, they didn't really talk last night once they got to the bedroom, but that was not the point!

Patrick eventually stopped laughing and clasped her hand in his, making her look up. "Hey, listen, last night was not a bad thing. As I am sure you would agree, last night was a really good thing. We both needed that, and now...breakfast!"

He grinned and jumped out of bed, finding a robe and heading to the kitchen, leaving Teresa alone. She watched him leave, but did not say anything.

He was right, they did need last night. It put them on a better page. And, as for breakfast, he made the right move in pursuing food instead of a deeper conversation that Teresa did not want to broach yet. She decided to go and join him in the pursuit of food, so she grabbed a robe, brushed her teeth and hair, and then headed out there.

She found him making pancakes, eggs and sausage, with a nice pot of coffee ready to go. "Anything I can do?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Not really. You can go sit outside and I'll bring everything out to you." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before returning to the pancake batter.

Teresa couldn't help but smile at the kiss. Such an innocent gesture that meant a lot to her. She wandered outside and sat down on the patio, watching the waves and listening to the calming sound of the birds overhead.

After a bit, Patrick brought their breakfast out and they ate slowly, but contentedly.

As they ate, Teresa watched Patrick and her mind began to think over things. She appreciated him bringing her out there, she really did. The peace and tranquility around her had helped her mind to settle and refocus on things, important things, things she had not wanted to think about for a long time. She had to face some issues, but her mind did not just stop there. Her inner demons had resurfaced and as she ate she began to realize certain things about herself that were not pretty.

As soon as they put their forks down on their empty plates, Teresa spoke up. "So, any more events planned for today?"

Patrick grinned. "Oh, I don't know. I kind of like your way of doing things best. How about a repeat of last night?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Hmmm, not really interested right now," She took a deep breath, "Actually, I just wanted to talk for a bit."

Patrick sat up a little straighter, preparing himself. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, this trip, for one thing."

"What about this trip?"

Teresa bit her lip, collecting her thoughts, before saying, "There is only one good reason why you would bring me out here: This is our farewell tour. You want to split up."

**Oh no! Not that! Yeah, more drama, I know, but it needed to happen. I am slowly winding this story down. In fact, I think there may be only one or two more chapters left. So sad, but I don't want to drag this story out any more. The ending is closing in. But how will it end? Happily or will I break a few hearts? Hmmmm, I guess you will have to wait and see :) Please Review! I always, at the last chapter, thank each of my reviewers personally for what they wrote to me, so you will each get proper appreciation from me then! Until next chapter, Li Li.**


	45. The End of a Tale

**Oh, wow, this is it. This is the last chapter (teary-eyed). It is hard to end this story after over a year of writing it, but it has run its course and The End must be written. I apologize for how long it took me to write this chapter, but I tried to make it the most appropriate ending I could. So, for the last time, please ENJOY this ending to my story!**

Patrick Jane was shocked. "Really? You did not think for a second that the reason I brought you out here is because I wanted to save our marriage?"

Lisbon frowned. "Why would you do that? Our marriage is over, Jane, done for. We need to just face the facts that getting drunk in Las Vegas does not automatically lead to marital bliss. You need to move on with your life and I need to move on with mine."

Jane set his jaw. "And what if I don't want to? What if I actually want this marriage to work and for us to grow old together. What if I want us to live happily ever after?" He softened his voice. "What if I want to try for another child?"

Lisbon looked down at her hands. "That's not possible, Jane. You know that as well as I do."

"Your miscarriage was planned by Red John! He wanted to kill our baby in order to make our lives miserable. YOU did nothing wrong. You can carry a child again."

"And what if Red John wants to kill that one as well? What do we do then?"

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because that would be an old game. He wants to play a new one. Eventually."

Lisbon stood up and began pacing. "Listen, this is not about Red John. This is about you and me. Our marriage. The marriage that needs to end," She sighed. "Listen, Jane, this has been great. We had a lot of fun together and I really did enjoy being married to you. But the honeymoon phase has ended and we just cannot handle the real stuff. We are too different and cannot handle strife. It would be best to just annul our marriage and get back to real life. I would like to hope that we can still work together on the team catching criminals."

"I don't want to be your team member. I want to be your husband," Jane contended. "That's it."

"Well, if that's the way you want to be about it, than it will only make this harder."

"No, it won't. Not if we actually try to make this marriage work. And it can't just be me fighting for it, you have to want it as well," Jane leaned towards her, "And I think you actually do want it to work. You just refuse to admit it. Even to yourself"

Lisbon opened her mouth to argue against that, but nothing came out. She glared at him. "The problem is that YOU won't move on! You cling to every little thing in life so much that, when its done, you can't give it up. You get hooked on things and refuse to let them go when it is time. Our marriage has run its course and you need to move on. You did it with your first wife and daughter, now you can do it with me and our..." She trailed off, biting her lip to force back tears.

Jane felt anger welling up. Why did she not understand? He stood up quickly, heading towards the door. "I won't just forget 'us' and our child, Lisbon. I won't try to cut all strings because we are going through some rough times. Even if you want to."

He stormed out the door and headed towards the beach.

Lisbon watched him go and suddenly could not hold back her tears. She collapsed onto the couch, sobbing, all the emotions of losing her child and now her marriage hitting her at once.

* * *

><p>Jane kept up a brisk pace as he walked along the beach, staring at the path ahead of him while his mind worked frantically to understand the situation he was in.<p>

Why did Lisbon feel like he would should abandon their marriage? Being married to Lisbon had been one of the happiest times of his life. He had felt loved and cared for, and was able to recuperate those feelings to her as well.

Jane sighed, slowing his pace. Perhaps the loss of their child had been way too much for her that she believed the only way to block out the pain would be through blocking him out. He understood that logic oh so well. He had originally blocked out anyone trying to help him move on from his first wife and child's death. Lisbon was the only one who had been able to break through his walls and get him to truly focus on the happier parts of life once again.

Without her he would have probably just become a hollow version of himself, with no love to give or the ability to receive it.

Except, he also wanted her to be happy. And if this marriage made her unhappy and brought back horrible memories to her, then why would he push her to continue? Maybe he was going about this all wrong. Kidnapping her may have worked in the past, but it was time to be serious. They needed outside help, like a marriage counselor. Jane knew he enjoyed trying to fix things on his own, but this time he realized that maybe his ideas were not the best on the table. Perhaps Lisbon was right about their marriage only being reliable in the fun times and not in the rough patches.

He never courted her properly. He never examined their compatibility with her to see if they would work. He never went through any of the steps to see if she would be a good mate. They were both thrown into it through stupidity, so why in the world did he think they could make a solid marriage out of a drunken mistake?

Perhaps it really was time to rethink whatever relationship they had left.

* * *

><p>While Jane was out walking and thinking, Lisbon was still on the couch. Her tears had finally stopped and now she was just staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of everything.<p>

She wanted a divorce. It was that simple. She wanted to put this marriage behind her and focus on just her work. Jane was only proving to be a distraction. Of course, she could not deny that her marriage to Jane had been fun. Oh, yes, she would definitely agree with that. But that was all it had been: a fun time. Nothing more. Once the two of them had reached hard events in their marriage, things seemed to fall apart. And she did not want to risk her heart being broken in the future because Jane couldn't deliver. She preferred to just face trials by herself, without having to deal with someone else.

Of course, a voice in her head argued, Jane HAD been there for her. He had tried to break through the walls she had built at the loss of her child. Heck, he had kidnaped her and brought her to paradise just to help take her mind off it, didn't he? And how had she repaid him? By accusing him that he was just trying to make breaking up with her easier.

But why would he stay beside her? She argued back. She would admit that she had been an absolute wreck ever since the miscarriage. Why would he be focused on her instead of himself, like the last time?

Because you helped him grow, the voice countered. You helped break his shell and get him back to living his life. You helped him in trying to find Red John, while still making sure he did not lose his sanity. And now, he wants to do the same for you.

Lisbon shook her head, still confused, and stood up. She really needed something to drink. She went into the kitchen and started rummaging around for a glass.

When she opened a cupboard, she found some glasses. As she reached for one, she noticed a box beside them. Curious, she pulled it out and looked at it. It was a basic cardboard box, with no markings on it. The top was only barely closed, so she decided to look inside. She saw some stuff wrapped in bubble wrap. She pulled an item out and unwrapped it. When she saw what it was, she nearly dropped it.

It was a basic mug with a picture of her and Jane on it, with a red heart surrounding them. It was a random picture that Van Pelt had taken when they were in Las Vegas.

Lisbon just stared at the mug. He had remembered. He had remembered his promise to make them a silly mug with their picture on it like other married couples. Even though he had blatantly ignored her request to not order them, her heart still broke that he cared enough about her to pursue this silly thing with the point that they would be like every other couple, in their own crazy way.

She cradled that mug as she slid to the floor, starting to cry again.

He really did care about her and their marriage.

Of course he does, the voice in her head said, he always has. What more proof and arguments do you need?

"None," Lisbon whispered. She knew exactly what she needed and wanted to do.

* * *

><p>After about two hours, Jane finally meandered his way back to the house. He found Lisbon sitting on a chair in the living room, cradling something in her hand. When he entered, she looked up.<p>

Neither of them spoke, and Jane merely took a seat across from her. They watched each other for a while before they both suddenly said, "I think..." They stopped, with Lisbon motioning Jane to begin.

"I think," Jane started. "That you are right."

Lisbon's eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth to speak, but Jane held his hand up. "Let me finish," He gathered his thoughts. "Lisbon, no wait, Teresa. Teresa, I love being married to you. This whole roller coaster of a relationship has been amazing. The highs were high, and yes, the lows were very low, but I would not trade these past few months for anything. In fact, I can say with certainty now that I love you," Jane paused. "But it is because I love you that I want you to be happy. And you have not gone through a happy time for a while now. I would hate to end our marriage, but if that is what you truly want, then I'll personally call the lawyer to get the papers made up. I don't want to be the cause of your misery any longer, and I will leave you alone if you need me to."

Lisbon couldn't help it but she began to giggle. Jane watched her with a worried expression as her giggles morphed into full fledged laughter, eventually leaving her out of breathe.

"Teresa, are you okay?" Jane asked. Lisbon nodded.

"Yes, yes actually I am. I am very okay."

"Oh, well, good. I guess I'll call the lawyer..."

"Ja...no, Patrick. Patrick, you don't understand. I am not laughing because I am happy to get a divorce, I am laughing because I our positions reverse themselves way too much," She caught her breath, a large smile on her face.

"Wait, you mean..."

"Yes, I want to stay married to you. I just kept thinking that the thought of divorce never made me happy, it just made me feel even worse. And once I found this," She held up the mug with their picture on it, "I felt that being married to you might not help my sanity stay in place, but it has sure made me the happiest woman in the world. And, yes, I will admit as well that I love you too."

Jane's face broke into a huge smile, and he lunged across the room to kiss her. That kiss went on a long time, all their pent up emotions going into it. When they finally broke apart, Jane smirked. "So, would say that my brilliant idea for the mug saved our marriage or..."

Lisbon smacked his arm. "Dream on. It was just a piece of the puzzle, nothing more."

"Oh really? Because I have this great idea for personalized teddy bears."

"Not going to happen, Jane."

"What happened to Patrick?"

"I can call you Jane and you can call me Teresa."

"What about Lisbon?"

"Well," Lisbon leaned in. "It would be a bit confusing have two 'Janes' around, wouldn't you think?"

Jane nodded, still grinning. "Ah, so Mrs. Teresa Jane is official now, is it? Would you like to participate in a ritual 'change of name' activity in the bedroom to celebrate?"

"Only if we stay away from alcohol from now on."

"Deal."

* * *

><p><em>Epilogue:<em>

After a few more days of enjoying the sun and surf, they went back to their home. Once they both settled in at their apartment, they began couple's counseling to sort through the kinks in their marriage and recover from the miscarriage(although, the counselor was probably the happiest one when Patrick left her office after each session).

After a couple weeks, they went back to work. The team welcomed Teresa back, glad to see that their marriage had survived and that the whole team was back together again. They even had a little party with cake to celebrate the couple's return. That night, as everyone talked and ate cake, Patrick watched the festivities, smiling and feeling the most content he had ever felt in a long time.

All of the sudden, his phone vibrated.

He went around a corner to answer it, seeing that it was a new text from an 'Unknown.' He clicked it open and read it.

'So, ready to play again?'

The End

**Wow, what a journey, for both me and the Mentalist characters. I am always thrilled when I read a review saying that someone is impressed with how the characters have grown and changed in this story. I went back and reread several chapters and can see that. I only had a basic outline when I began, but I love how various rabbit trails and sudden inspirations have molded this into a story that I am incredibly proud of. I think this has helped me to see how I have changed as a writer since my first fan fiction story.**

**I will probably not be writing any more Mentalist stories for a long time, if ever. Yes, I know I left it on a semi-cliffhanger, but I have no further inspiration for the Mentalist fandom at this time. Perhaps someday, but not now. I will be writing a new fan fiction in another fandom at some point, so feel free to check out my other fan fiction stories and even my Favorites list for more good reads.**

**But, enough about me. It is time to celebrate **_**you!**_** All the reviewers and people who have put my story on Alert and Favorite. Whenever I get a notification about any of those, I feel very happy that someone out there likes my story and that all my time spent writing is not in vain. So, now a personalized thank you(in order of first review to latest) to each of my reviewers and a thank you for everyone who Alert/Favorited my story:**

**AlejandraO:** Thank you for being the first to review my story and for the 3 wonderful, funny reviews!

**Little-Firestar84:** Thank you so much for the 7 reviews and for putting me on Story Alert. They were all thought-provoking and funny. I finally looked up what 'in vino veritas' meant, and you were totally right about it fitting these two! I love that phrase now :)

**Lauri-mentalist:** Thanks for the 2 reviews! I hope that you enjoyed all the story :)

**Viviskilener-jisbonist4ever:** Wow, your name is incredibly unusual, but still cool. Thank you sooo much for the 27 reviews that you sent me! Each of them brought a smile to my face and helped me think things through in my storyline. I hope that I managed to avoid the typical 'pregnant Lisbon' story. Also, thank you for various advice and ideas that you gave, they helped me clarify things and even write some funny parts!

**theskydreamer:** Thanks for the 3 reviews and for putting my story on Story Alert! I am so glad that you found my humor funny(I tried my best ;) ).

**Jisbon4ever:** Thank you very much for your 9 reviews and for adding my story to your Alert and Favorites lists. Your reviews were always so thoughtful and hilarious that I was always excited when I saw that your sent me a review. They really brightened up my day and made me incredibly pleased with my story.

**lysjelonken:** 'Holy cheese and crackers' right back at you :) LOL Thank you for the 4 funny reviews! I hope that the rest of the story was just as enjoyable.

**xxxGleekxxx:** Thanks a lot for the 6 reviews and for Favoriting my story! Wow, you REALLY liked my story, which I appreciate so much! Your reviews were always incredibly encouraging :)

**coolapplepie:** First off, your name is really cool. Second, thank you so much for the 1 review and for adding my story to your Alert and Favorite lists. I also love these type of stories, but I had not read any good ones about the Mentalist, so I thought that I would try my hand at it. Also, I am so happy that you think that I nailed the characters. Writing characters accurately can be quite difficult, but I try my best.

**lifez-beautiful:** Thank you for your 1 encouraging review! I hope that you loved the rest of the story :)

**x-Pick'n'Mix-x:** Thank you so much for your 8 reviews and for adding my story to your Alert and Favorites lists! Your reviews were very encouraging and always helped push me forward in my writing.

**Kuhlama:** Thanks a lot for your 5 reviews and for adding me to your Story Alert list. I loved how you 'answered' my author's notes and related some of the stuff to the current season of the Mentalist. I also liked how funny your reviews were: they always brought a smile to my face :)

**torchwood456789:** Thank you for your 1 terrific review and for adding my story to your Story Alert list.

**MissDonnie:** Thank you soooo much for your 8 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. Your reviews were always greatly encouraging, helping to feel good about my writing and press forward with my story.

**Mentalgal:** Thank you for the 15 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert and Favorites lists! Your reviews were short, sweet and to the point at times, and other times absolutely hilarious, and I was always happy to see what remarks you had about the story(and I also think it would be hilarious if Lisbon/Jane getting drunk married thing actually happened in the show!).

**Aania71:** Thank you for the 10 amazing reviews! You were always one of my upbeat, encouraging reviewers and you helped nudge me to keep up my writing. I am so delighted that you loved the chapters and I hope that the story overall made you very happy :)

**Moogie123:** Thank you for your 1 review and for adding my story to your Story Alert and Favorites lists. I am glad that you liked the bedroom part ;) LOL

**leelou:** Thank you for your 1 review! Yes, alcohol can indeed perform miracles :) LOL (that made me laugh when I first read it, thanks for the short bit of humor!).

**Mi16:** Thanks for your 1 review. Yes, Jane's plans are always fun to watch and/or write :)

**Amri91:** Thank you for the 2 fantastic reviews! I am so happy that you enjoyed various parts of my story. And yes, Jane sneaking around is very much part of his character ;)

**zats:** Thanks for the 3 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. I hope that I explained everything clearly and that you liked how I ended it!

**ColonelJulia96:** Thank you for your 1 review! I hope that you enjoyed all of my story :)

**lisbon69:** Thank you so much for the 1 review and for adding me to your Favorites list. I am glad that you thought that the story was 'fun & light' and I hope that I kept that up since you reviewed.

**amarilis24:** Thanks for the 2 reviews! I hope that you liked where I took the story :)

**Kaslyna:** Thank you for the 1 review and for adding me to your Favorites list! I hope that you got better, and I will take your...um, unusual review as a compliment ;) LOL

**In The Name:** Thanks for the 1 review and for adding me to your Story Alert list! I hope that you liked how I continued the story and that you enjoyed the entire thing(plus, I think your username is really cool :) )

**oldmoviewatcher:** Thank you for the 3 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. Some of your reviews were quite helpful and reminded me that I needed to explain certain plot twists better, so thank you for that. I am sure other readers appreciated it as well :) (oh, and your name is really cool. I can agree with having a love of old movies)

**Agathanancy98:** Thank you so much for your 7 reviews and for adding my story to your Favorites list. Wow, I was always thrilled to read your reviewers. I loved how I continuously surprised you (evil giggle), and your remarks were always appreciated :)

**xxmentalistxxspooks:** Thank you for your 2 reviews! They were very encouraging, and I was happy that I was right about English and their tea ;) LOL

**Charlie O'Kelley:** Thank you so much for your 11 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. I am always amazed when I go to my inbox and see 11 emails about reviews. I greatly appreciate people who take the time to review each chapter once they read it, so thanks a lot for taking the time to do that! Plus, your reviews were always funny to read as well LOL.

**xXCoral-RoseXx:** Thank you for the 3 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. I loved your upbeat reviews, they brought a smile to my face (also the fact that you had to look up Pantyhose LOL).

**TeresaLisbonCBI:** Thank you for your 2 great reviews and for adding me to your Story Alert list. I am glad that you liked the story and I hope that you enjoyed the ending as well(plus, I LOVE your username :) )

**chymom: **Thank you for your 4 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert and Favorites lists. I loved reading your chapters and seeing your remarks about not just my story but the Metalist show itself.

**iamnumbernine:** Thank you for your 4 reviews and for you adding me to your Story Alert and Favorites lists. Glad that my cliffhanger addiction did not phase you too much, and that you appreciated my story! (Oh, and is your name based off the Lorien Legacies/I Am Number Four books/movies? Just curious because I like those things as well)

**Brown Eyes Parker:** Thank you for your 2 reviews! I am so glad that someone else appreciated a story that is not just based around those two sleeping together without consequences. I like to make my stories realistic, and I am happy someone else noticed :) Plus, you must be psychic since you picked up on the baby factor ;)

**Hollystream:** Thank you for your 6 terrific reviews! I am pleased that you enjoyed the story and I hope that the ending was just as good :) (oh, and your profile picture is very cool, too.)

**MJ2387:** Thanks for the 1 review and for adding me to your Story Alert and Favorites lists! I hope that you loved the ending as much as the story :D

**LAurore:** Thank you for your 4 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. Glad that you got Hightower right ;) And sorry the chapters were too short, but I hope the overall story was good.

** .lover:** Thanks for the 1 review and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. You guessed half correctly(of course, Cho would have been the other option), but good point on guessing Hightower.

**MinnieMcGee:** Thank you for the 1 review and for adding me to your Favorites list! I am so happy that you liked chapter 20, and I hope that the rest of the story was just as enjoyable :) (Oh, and your profile picture is hilarious LOL)

**RachelHouse22: **Thanks for the 1 review and for adding my story to your Favorites list! Yes, the 'Hello' part was my favorite as well :) I hope that you also enjoyed the Mentalist season finale and the next season(I cannot wait to see what happens next!).

**missinquisitive:** Thank you for the 1 review and for adding my story to your Favorites list. I hope that I fullfilled your need to 'KNOW MORE' and that you loved the rest of the story just as much as the first part. Also, you make me giddy as well when I read your review :) (I love your profile picture. Avatar: The Last Airbender fan as well?)

**miss-tarletone:** Thank you so much for your 15 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert and Favorites list. Your reviews were shorter than most, but incredibly encouraging and helped me to continue writing each chapter. I was always excited when I saw that you had reviewed :)

**AngryLittlePrincess:** Thank you for your 2 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert list. I hope that my story 'killed' you a in a good way and that you enjoyed the ending.

**bloodorangeandvanillaicecrea m:** Thank you so much for your 15 reviews! I love when people review all my chapters in a row, fills up my inbox quite fast LOL Your reviews were hilarious and your remarks about each chapter was fun to read(and yes, Jane has gone mad several times). I am so glad that you enjoyed my story and I hope that the ending was to your liking. Plus, your name is really cool, although really long :)

**valkyrie-23:** Thank you for your 1 review and for adding me to your Story Alert and Favorites list! I hope that I updated enough for you ;)

**ShellGrad: **Thank you for your 1 great review. I am glad that you didn't think the mystery was corny, I tried my best.

**LadyShaye:** Thanks for your 1 review! I was never a Friends fan, but I am so glad to see that you enjoyed my story just as much as that one episode :)

**DanH2010:** Thank you for the 8 reviews! I was very pleased to see that I SHOCKED you several times :) I hope that you enjoyed the ending. And yes, they are both HUGE bags of commitment issues LOL.

**Special Agent Baker:** Thank you for your 5 reviews and for adding me to your Story Alert and Favorites lists! Your reviews were very encouraging, funny, and at times pushy when I needed them the most. And yes, I do have a Youtube account, although I don't post videos. Oh, your name is amazing, too :)

**Your-Bespoke-Psychopath:** Thank you so much for your 6 reviews and for adding my story to your Favorites list. I don't like to play favorites, but I have to be honest: your reviews were especially encouraging to me. I LOVED how you spent the time analyzing my story, critiquing it and also praising it, paying attention to how the plot all worked together. I was always a bit nervous-excited to see what you reviewed, because I knew that you would be honest, and I love reviewers who are honest about my stories. Thank you sooo much for them, and I hope that the ending met your satisfaction(if not, please tell me why).

**vanrigsby:** Thank you for your 1 review and for adding my story to Story Alert! I hope that you enjoyed all of the story as much as that one specific chapter :) I also LOVE your username. Very cool combo.

**Totorsg:** Thank you for the 1 review and for adding me to Story Alert. Your review was very encouraging and I hope that you enjoyed the rest of the story.

**Tallie14:** Thanks for the 1 review and for adding my story to your Story Alert list! Yes, I have an addiction to cliffhangers, but I hope that you enjoyed how I concluded each one :)

**YulianaHenderson:** Thank you so much for your 2 reviews and for adding my story to your Favorites list. I don't really care if story 'hits' are recorded or not, I just love to hear from people who are reading it, so I greatly appreciated your reviews. I am so glad that you decided to let me know your feelings, and I hope that the ending satisfied your as well :)

**eblonde:** Thanks for the 1 review. And yes, I know, that plot twist was truly evil, but it had to be done. Feel free to throw things at me if you need to, and I hope that the ending helped satisfy you a bit.

**madcloisfan:** Thank you for the 1 review and for adding my story to Story Alert. I am sooooo happy that you 'loved' my story :)

**wantingmore:** Thanks for the 1 review and for adding my story to your Story Alert and Favorites lists! I am pleased that you enjoyed the Red John/Jane dialogue and that you didn't think the story was cheesy. I hope that you enjoyed the ending (and what are you wanting more of, in your username? Just curious LOL)

**scifiromance:** Thank you so much for your 27 reviews and for adding my story to your Story Alert and Favorites lists! My inbox was really full of your reviews, so it was a ton of fun to read them and see what you thought of each chapter. Each was short, sweet and to the point, and I really appreciated that. Thank you for taking the time to write each of them :) (plus, your username is something I can greatly agree with loving lol)

**Guest:** Thanks for your 1 review! I have never had a 'Guest' review, so thank you whoever you are for taking the time to write to me!

**Vanidot:** Thank you for your 1 review! Hey, slow readers are great readers, too. I hope that you did eventually finish it and that you enjoyed the ending as much as the rest of the story :)

**Wow, that was the most reviewers I have EVER had to thank. And now, for all the people who subscribed to my story through Story Alert:**

_ , AngryLittlePrincess, Annabella Prinx, Arlere, Ash4355xx, Ashes2Ashesaholic, beccarae21, bluedot, bobkitty1123, BrokenDaisy, brookeandlucs4everandever, CheriseMarlie, chloerog93, CoCo Darke, crd-crd, dadadol, DanahNYPD, Devika97, DHudson, dreamr56, Ellana17, Ellkat, evedllas, firstdown, FludX, ForensicMidnightReader, imfaszewski, jennileigh07, Jibbsluva8294, Jisbontruelove, joc2787, Juliette L'etoile, katieupatree, KK1987, Ligya Ford-Northman, liinek, lilmisslefty, Ma'echii, Maddygirl76, MikiMowse23, MissStephy100, Moogie123, Nikatsu, ningostar, NKrog, notonline, Palindrome1313, PG18774, PianoGirl767, Polgara00, Prithvi, Psychic Anthropologist, Pyrgus, rageoffire, .91, red411, RedSchoolLovr88, SamFanFirst, ScientificAnomaly, Shannon S, SonataEternal, Sparxfly93, Starkid-Amber-Lopez, SuzzieSidle, sweetie cake, SweetLoveOfMine, taylah-angry-little-princess98, toofargone93, trudes193, varillettes, wimmer511, xHotxAsxIcex _

**You are all amazing to me for liking my story to much that you wanted to keep updated on it! And now for the wonderful people who put my story on their Favorites list as well:**

_3R1N14S, 3va, Annabella Prinx, Ashes2Ashesaholic, azulruso, Beket13, bluedot, bobkitty1123, CheriseMarlie, chloerog93, chymom, ClaudiusFly, dan the m33o, DanahNYPD, ragonrider Zangetsu, Ginerva not Virginia, hanuka, heather549, helikesitheymikey, jakeluver, jubbimaster, Juliette L'etoile, Kaley Blair, KK1987, Kuro Erie, KyarorinAshrii, lexiiii14, liinek, lotusbe88, m4eva, Marissa-Xtreme Haley Fan, MissStephy100, Moogie123, ninaferrero, RedSchoolLovr88, reig, 2506, Starkid-Amber-Lopez, Starscape91, SweetLoveOfMine, sydg813, tivamcabby5, topdog19, TotalCitron, tsukimonse, veleal, xHotxAsxIcex, YulianaHenderson,Zakuro120_

**All of you are greatly appreciated! Along with all the nameless/faceless readers out there, I love you as well for even bothering to make it this far in my story!**

**So, it is time for my final goodbye. I hope to see you all around and always know that this was a fantastic writing journey and I thank you for coming on it with me.**

**Until I write again, **_**Li-Li-ThePinkbookgirl**_


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